You don’t always associate opera with the Olympics, but we should be grateful the Games of the XXIII Olympiad took place in Los Angeles or else you might not be reading this article right now.

In his own words, Brenton Ryan may have once been "super shy," but he has emerged as not only an outgoing, confident young tenor but as an artist with an unusually focused view of where he is headed.

Wrap your brain around this amazing little factoid: While many opera companies have Production Stage Managers, only very few, as in less than 20 in the whole of the U.S., have it as a full-time position instead of seasonal or contractual. LA Opera is one of them.

As the Technical Director for LA Opera, Jeff regularly clocks in 80 or a hundred hours a week, sometimes even more if you can fathom that. Grinning through that ZZ Top beard, he says, “It’s like a rollercoaster ride. Once you’re strapped in, you’re on for the full ride. Around these parts we call it extreme sports opera.”

Marilyn Ziering is the recipient of this year's Peter Hemmings Award. The award dinner will take place on March 1, 2015 at the California Club.

Josh’s obligation as the Director of Artistic Planning is to affect the collective vision of Plácido, Maestro James Conlon and LAO President and CEO Christopher Koelsch. Accomplishing this wish list includes casting, helping to determine repertoire and productions, and identifying the music staff to prepare each show.