FULL THE GRAND HOTEL TARTARUS (Richard Danielpour) Los Angeles CA 2024 Leela Subramaniam, Lila Salido Rico, Shannon Delijani, Ashley Faatoalia

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: THE GRAND HOTEL TARTARUS  
• Composer: Danielpour Richard   
• Libretto: Richard Danielpour    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: Freud Playhouse, University of California UCLA, Los Angeles, California, Herb Alpert School of Music  
• Recorded: May 2024
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Leela Subramaniam, Lila Salido Rico, Shannon Delijani, Ashley Faatoalia, Ben Lowe, Jared Jones, LaMarcus Miller
• Conductor: Neil Stulberg  
• Orchestra: UCLA Philharmonia  
• Choreographer: Nicola Bowie  
• Stage Director: Peter Kazaras  
• Stage Designer: Jay Tyson  
• Costume Designer: Emma Beeman  
• Lighting Designer: Gabriel Rodriguez  

Information about the Recording

• Published by: Richard Danielpour  
• Date Published: 2025  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  “The idea for the opera came to me after a disastrous three day stay at a Las Vegas hotel which eventually left me bedridden with the flu and fever. Two weeks later, Los Angeles and the entire country went into lockdown due to the pandemic. It was at that time that I began to write the libretto for the work,” said Danielpour, who composed the music and wrote the libretto. “Ultimately, The Grand Hotel Tartarus is an allegory about the ‘diseases’ and addictions of our time, but it is also a story about the power of forgiveness and reconciliation, as well as a cautionary tale about greed and the insatiable desire to fulfill unfulfillable cravings.”

  The six guests at The Grand Hotel Tartarus are not certain how they arrived at the gilded and somewhat gaudy hotel. Each has committed seemingly grave and unpardonable sins; some grapple with their guilt, while others contend with their pride.  As their aristocratic and gracious host urges the guests to delight in sensual pleasures, each becomes aware that they must make a choice, not just about what to do, but fundamentally about who they are.

  “I knew the minute I heard the first iteration of Richard [Danielpour]’s score that this would be a great opera,” said The Grand Hotel Tartarus director Peter Kazaras, who has directed opera productions at the Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, Tanglewood Music Center and Los Angeles Opera. “The music recalls Leonard Bernstein in its craft. It’s infectious, rhapsodic and it stays with you. I am so pleased with the artistic team. This is a professional-level production. The sets are gorgeous, Nicola Bowie is a graceful and exciting choreographer, and we are showcasing some extraordinary professional singers and new talent.”

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