LA Phil to Take on Modern Day War of the Worlds

Orson Welles’ 1938 “fake news” led millions of panicked listeners to believe that aliens were invading. Yuval Sharon takes the original radio script of War of the Worlds as the basis of an audacious new performance piece to be heard around LA—at WWII-era sirens reactivated for two-way communication—and simultaneously at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Composer Annie Gosfield’s use of radio sounds makes her the ideal collaborator in this must-see event.

According to TimeOut, “Sharon looks to Welles’s original radio script to create an immersive, realistic production that will be performed beyond the confines of the concert hall.”

“While LA Phil musicians conjure Gosfield’s radio sounds inside the iconic venue, singers will be stationed at three defunct WWII-era sirens in Downtown LA(Olive and 1st Streets; Winston and Main Streets; and Hill and 7th Streets). The performance will stream live through the sirens, which have been repurposed as two-way speakers just for the event, while the singers outside will send back dispatches of the alien invasion to be broadcast live to audiences inside the concert hall.”

The opera will be presented at two separate performances this weekend, November 18 at noon and 2 p.m. And did we mention that Sigourney Weaver is narrating? Oh, yes.

War of the Worlds can be experienced in four different ways: purchase tickets to the performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall or make a free reservation for a spot at one of the three siren sites.

You can purchase tickets to War of the Worlds here.