Long Beach Opera Productions Go West

Long Beach Opera is moving productions to the Westside, beginning its 11th season with two chamber operas staged at the Backlot cabaret-theater in West Hollywood.

Offenbach’s “La Vie Parisienne,” in a downsized, updated alternate version by Christopher Alden, opens Oct. 15, with nine additional performances through Oct. 30. Udo Zimmermann’s “White Rose” receives its West Coast premiere Nov. 4, in a 10-performance run through Nov. 20.

“It’s not traditional opera, and it’s not going to be presented in a traditional way,” LBO general director Michael Milenski says, adding that he feels there is an audience in the Westside for these productions.

The company’s season will continue in May, Milenski said, with performances in English of three operas based on plays by Beaumarchais--Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” and Milhaud’s “The Guilty Wife”--in Long Beach. Information: (213) 596-5556.