Jake Heggie

The lack of well-defined seasons in Southern California is never more disconcerting than in the transition between summer and fall, usually the hottest time of the year. In the musical world, that blur is stronger than ever right now. Los Angeles Opera began its new season last week; meanwhile, the Hollywood Bowl still rolls along, prolonging the musical summer through September.

Although Kansas and the surrounding Midwestern states have added a prized flat twang to American popular music, it is a musical accent America's more art-minded composers from the Midwest have typically worked hard to lose. And yet, that same sound can make our opera its most authentically American. Virgil Thomson, from Kansas City, Mo.

Grant Gershon has a reputation for turning on a dime. Assistant conductors need quick responses and versatility, of course, since they must be ready to step up to the podium at a moment's notice. And ideally, the filling-in should be high profile and spectacular--that's long been one of the best ways young conductors can make a name for themselves. It worked for Leonard Bernstein; it worked for Kent Nagano; and it worked for Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, newly added to Santa Monica College, had its semi-public tryouts over the summer and a gala last month with singer Barbara Cook, who was amplified. But the opening night concert Saturday, a recital by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, was the first real tryout of the 499-seat hall's acoustics, which were designed by JaffeHolden. And the first weasel evaluation is that it is too soon to really tell.

TELEVISION Monica Money: Monica Lewinsky may not be getting a dime from ABC, but ABC is getting about $35 million because of her. That two-hour "20/20" interview by Barbara Walters that the network will air Wednesday from 9 to 11 p.m. actually contains about 90 minutes of interview and introductory comments, which leaves about 30 minutes of advertising time. Some of that will go to local stations to sell, and some will be used to promote ABC shows.

The Elizabethan theater built for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego's Balboa Park was never intended to be permanent. FOR THE RECORD: Old Globe: An article in Saturday's Calendar section about the Old Globe theater complex in San Diego quoted executive producer Louis G. Spisto as saying that no seat in the new Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre was more than 12 feet from the stage. No seat is more than 16 1/2 feet from the stage. — But as the Old Globe approaches its 75th anniversary, the company is celebrating not just longevity and survival during tough economic times, but the completion of a new theater and education complex on the same green spot where abridged Shakespeare shows were first performed.

Friday night at UC Santa Barbara, Dawn Upshaw performed in recital. Two nights later, Susan Graham appeared at the Music Center. These are two of America's most appealing, best-loved singers, and they have a lot in common. They are close in age -- early 40s. They are from the heartland and all-American. They are singers who can reach an audience. Indeed, they can reach an audience so well that both have been invited to sing for state dinners at George W.

On Saturday night, one day after the 400th birthday of opera in Florence, America added another specimen to its repertory for the lyric stage. New operas may not be as plentiful as they once were, but a time traveler from early 17th century Italy to the War Memorial Opera House, for the premiere of Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking," couldn't help but be impressed by the appearance of a thriving art form.

While Los Angeles has plenty of hyphenate artists, few ply as many trades as actor-director-singer-songwriter Philip Littell. In fact, he practically wrote the book--or rather, the libretto--on what it means to be a contemporary Renaissance artist. Well-known since the mid-1980s for his work on the local theater and cabaret scene, Littell has, in recent years, added yet another dimension to his career.