Patti LuPone, Marilyn Horne in conversation about ‘Ghosts of Versailles’

Two legends will share the stage on Friday when Los Angeles Opera hosts a live conversation between Broadway diva Patti LuPone and operatic mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

The veteran performers, who have both played the role of Samira in John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles,” will take part in a discussion hosted by L.A. Opera music director James Conlon. The conversation is an L.A. Opera patron event and isn’t open to the general public, but the company will livestream the talk on its website starting Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Horne appeared in the world-premiere production of “Ghosts” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1991. The role of Samira is a 10-minute comic cameo that takes place near the conclusion of the opera’s first act. LuPone is currently playing the role in L.A. Opera’s new production, which is running through March 1 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Conlon, who is conducting performances of “Ghosts,” has known LuPone for decades, the two of them having been classmates at the Juilliard School in New York. The conductor told The Times in a recent interview that he and Horne have lived in the same New York building for years.

Horne has served as the voice program director of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara since 1997. Her many awards include the National Medal of Arts and a Kennedy Center Honor.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT