(Los Angeles) April 27, 2026 — On May 24, 2026, LA Opera will present a concert featuring the Paris-based chamber ensemble   Les Talens Lyriques, led by its founder and artistic director Christophe Rousset and joined by countertenor Key'mon Murrah, at The Colburn School's intimate Zipper Hall.

Fresh from their acclaimed performance with LA Opera last season, Les Talens Lyriques is back with Handelian Heroes, a cornucopia of musical delights starring countertenor Key'mon Murrah as featured guest artist. Murrah will perform dazzling arias from four of George Frideric Handel's best known operas:    Ariodante,   Julius Caesar,  Xerxes   and Rinaldo.   The concert will include additional instrumental pieces composed by Handel: the famous Concerto Grosso Opus 3, No. 2., and    the passacaglia from the opera   Rodrigo.

"When I began my harpsichord studies in Aix-en-Provence, I had the privilege of attending the final rehearsal of Handel’s Alcina," said Christophe Rousset. "A vivid impression has remained with me ever since: the beauty of the voices, magnified by an incomparably elegant writing style, the contrasts of emotions, the exhilaration born of virtuosity, and the profound expressive power of the adagios. Thus was born a love that has never faded—for this composer, for the voices best suited to serve him, for Baroque opera, and for the sense of wonder it so beautifully conveys. A Handel aria remains forever a model of its kind—through its form, its expressive substance, and the unique space it offers to the voice. Some of his most beautiful arias, even the most frequently performed, continue to exert an incomparable emotional power over me. I believe I shall never tire of them, nor ever be without them."

About Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset is a leading figure in the world of classical music, internationally recognized for his work as a harpsichordist and conductor. Founder and artistic director of the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, he has built a distinguished career spanning several decades, shaped by his deep knowledge of Baroque and Classical repertoire. Renowned for his refined interpretations and scholarly approach, Rousset is admired not only for his virtuosity on the harpsichord, but also for his ability to bring new life to forgotten or lesser-known works. His contributions to historically informed performance have made him a central voice in today’s early music landscape.

About Key'mon Murrah
Countertenor Key'mon Murrah made his 2023 LA Opera debut as Leonardo in Gabriela Lena Frank's The Last Dream of Frida and Diego,    a role he created in 2022 at the opera's world premiere at San Diego Opera. Heralded by Opera News    for his "resplendent, voluptuous tone throughout his enormous range and phrasing with the feel of silk," the 2024 Marian Anderson Award winner has quickly become one of the leading and versatile artists of his generation, performing across the world's top stages. Highlights of recent seasons include his Metropolitan Opera debut as Balthazar in El Niño by John Adams, the title role in    Xerxes   with Detroit Opera, the Sorceress and Spirit in Dido and Aeneas   with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and Hamor in Handel's Jephtha   with the Komische Oper Berlin.

About Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques, named after the subtitle of Rameau’s 1739 opera   Les Fêtes d’Hébé, was founded in 1991 by harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset. Spanning a wide vocal and instrumental repertoire from the early Baroque to the dawn of Romanticism, the ensemble seeks to shed new light on music history’s great masterpieces—viewed through the prism of rare or previously unperformed works that often serve as the missing links in Europe’s musical heritage. Musicological research and editorial work are central to the ensemble’s mission, playing a vital role in its artistic identity and international reputation.

In addition to the operatic repertoire, the ensemble explores a diverse range of musical genres, including the madrigal, cantata, air de cour, symphony, and the full spectrum of sacred music—such as masses, motets, oratorios, and    Leçons de Ténèbres. Each season, Les Talens Lyriques performs worldwide, with ensembles ranging from intimate groups of a few musicians to large forces of over 60 performers spanning all generations.

Tickets, Date and Address
The recital will take place at 2pm on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at Zipper Hall at The Colburn School
(200 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012).

Only a very view tickets remain. Tickets can be purchased online at    LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012).

More information about the performance is available at    LAOpera.org/Heroes. Click    here  to download photos of the artists.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera    Off Grand   initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera   Connects  department offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County.   Learn more at LAOpera.org.