Get Cultured! Long Beach Museums, Music, Theatre & More
When it comes to great cultural amenities, Long Beach is in a class of its own! Who knew that a city this size would be home to world-renowned opera, theatre, orchestras, and art museums! Did you know that the Long Beach Opera, founded in 1979, is the oldest operatic producing company in the metropolitan Los Angeles/Orange County region, helping to inspire the establishment of LA Opera in 1986? And the Museum of Latin American Art is the only museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art. From museums to music, theatre, and more – you’ll find it all when you get cultured in Long Beach!
Museum of Latin American Art 628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802
The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is the only museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art. Since its inception in 1996, MOLAA has doubled its size and added a 15,000 square foot sculpture garden. Located in the city’s rapidly developing East Village Arts District, its permanent collection now numbers over 1,600 works of art.
Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest Long Beach Playhouse 5021 E Anaheim St. Long Beach, CA 90804
Until Feb 8 Lost in the fog, a stranger seeks refuge in a nearby house, only to find a man shot dead and his wife standing over him with a smoking gun. But the woman’s dazed confession is anything but convincing, and the unexpected guest decides to help. Remarkably, the police suspect a man who died two years previously; a tangled web of lies reveals family secrets and chilling motives, where the real murderer turns out to be the greatest mystery of all. Agatha Christie knocks it out of the park again with a murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end!
Long Beach Camerata Singers Beverly O’Neill Theater 300 E Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802
Feb 16 Enjoy a lovely afternoon sampling wines to support the education programs of the Long Beach Camerata Singers. Savor an excellent selection of wines and light snacks, while you meet and mix with other patrons, board members, singers, and artistic director Dr. James K. Bass. Currently in its 54th season, the Long Beach Camerata Singers was founded in 1966 by Frank Allen as the Vocal Arts Ensemble, and served as resident chorus for the Long Beach Bach Festival, which he founded in 1973. Camerata has performed with other arts organizations, including Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Long Beach Opera, South Bay Children’s Chorale, Long Beach Youth Chorus, and as the Artistic Partner of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra.
Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra Various venues
Feb 7 & 8 To kick off the 2020 season, Musica Angelica presents 24 Hours in Versailles, music from the court of Louis XIV, who reigned as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. Since its inception in 1993, Musica Angelica has produced an annual subscription season of orchestral and chamber concerts in venues throughout Los Angeles County, programming a mixture of known masterworks along with rarely heard gems, and featuring many of the best Baroque musicians from across the country and Europe. Musica Angelica collaborates with leading performing arts institutions in Southern California including Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, J. Paul Getty Museum, Norton Simon Museum, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Long Beach Symphony Terrace Theatre 300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802
Long Beach Symphony is a beloved cultural institution with the mission to enrich the community by providing high-quality traditional and contemporary symphonic music and life-shaping educational experiences. Every year Long Beach Symphony performs six classical concerts in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center Terrace Theater, and five POPS! concerts in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Long Beach Arena. Music Director Maestro Eckart Preu who began his tenure in 2017, has earned kudos for his programming and dynamic stage presence. Critics, the orchestra, and audiences alike have celebrated his ability to combine well-loved masterworks with rare or newer works in programs, offering dimension, sophistication, and spirit.
Long Beach Opera Various venues
Founded in 1979, the Long Beach Opera is the oldest operatic producing company in the metropolitan Los Angeles/Orange County region. Long Beach Opera’s success helped provide the stimulus for the subsequent founding of opera companies in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, making Southern California one of the major operatic centers in the United States. With a repertoire of over ninety operas, including early and late Baroque works, 20th-century works, and operas of special interest, Long Beach Opera is known for its world, American, and West Coast premieres of new and rare operas. 2020 Season HERE
Long Beach Museum of Art 2300 E Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA, 90803
Since its inception, the Museum has been housed in the historic 1911 Elizabeth Milbank Anderson House. In 2000, the Museum completed a restoration of the historic residence and constructed a new two-story exhibition pavilion. The Museum’s permanent collection is diverse with more than 3,200 works encompassing 300 years of American and European art in all media. Highlights from the collection include furniture by Charles and Ray Eames, ceramics by Beatrice Wood, sculptures by Claire Falkenstein, and early 20th Century European Modernist paintings by Vasily Kandinsky. While you’re there, stop by Claire’s, the beautifully landscaped oceanfront dining area on the museum campus, featuring an unobstructed view of the Queen Mary and Catalina Island.