Off stage, the timing remains perfect

James CONLON, who became music director of the Los Angeles Opera in 2006, is about as busy these days as a conductor can be. This afternoon, he leads Verdi’s “Otello,” a concert that comes after Saturday night’s scheduled performance of two works in his beloved “Recovered Voices” project, devoted to presenting operas suppressed by the Nazis -- Viktor Ullmann’s “The Broken Jug” and Alexander Zemlinsky’s “The Dwarf.”

Two weeks ago, Conlon packed his weekend by leading all three operas as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three concerts. He took time out recently to share with Chris Pasles details about the sorts of culture he consumes when he’s not behind the baton.

TV PICKS: I watch CNN, BBC (when I can get it) and most recently the debates.

OUNDTRACK FOR THE COMMUTE: I’m listening to Juraj Filas’ “Requiem -- Oratio Spei.” He’s a marvelous contemporary Czech-Slovak composer I was not familiar with until a few weeks ago. Then there’s Eric Zeisel’s Piano Trio. He was a Viennese composer who fled Austria when Hitler invaded in 1938. Eventually he came to Los Angeles, where he worked as a film composer. He died in 1959. I’m also listening to audition tapes, which I get a lot of.

IN THE BEDSTAND

LIBRARY: Next to my bed at the moment are “A Life of Picasso” by John Richardson and a collection of essays by W.H. Auden.

TOP INTERNET DESTINATIONS: New York Times.com, MSNBC.com

YOUTUBE PICKS: I don’t watch YouTube unless my daughters want me to see something. One of the things they showed me was me taking a bow at the Paris Opera last April when I conducted Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra.” They cut into the applause. They’re not supposed to do that.

CULTURAL ADDICTION:

I think the answer is obvious: music and language(s).