Go Figure

In a nation virtually drowning in the cesspool that is pop culture the fetid miasma of which has invaded every nook and cranny of our culture, that fons et origo and nursery of much of that noxious pestilence, Los Angeles, is planning a ten-week festival to be held 15 April through 30 June 2010 dedicated to — wait for it! — Richard Wagner.

In what could be the region's most ambitious, broadest-based artistic endeavor since the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, Los Angeles Opera will join forces with more than 50 Southern California arts and educational institutions to stage a 10-week festival in spring 2010 inspired by the opera company's upcoming production of Richard Wagner's epic Ring cycle.

The launch of Ring Festival L.A., which will include a variety of performances, symposiums, concerts, special exhibitions and film screenings, will be formally announced this morning by L.A. Opera General Director Plácido Domingo. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, county Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky and philanthropist Eli Broad, whose $6-million foundation gift is underwriting the Ring, as well as a number of local arts representatives, are expected to attend.

Go figure.

RTWT here.