Sexson Auditorium [photo credit: Pasadena City College]
Pasadena City College’s opera program opens five performances Thursday that pair Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” one of the earliest English operas, with Giacomo Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” a one-act comedy drawn from Dante’s “Inferno.” The double bill, directed by Dr. Anthony Moreno in the recently renovated Sexson Auditorium, is among the first major performing arts productions in the nearly 2,000-seat venue since its bond-funded restoration last year. Tickets are $5 to $10.
Purcell composed “Dido and Aeneas” by the late 1680s, basing the story on Book IV of Virgil’s “Aeneid.” The opera tells the story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and her doomed love for the Trojan hero Aeneas. Its final aria, known as “Dido’s Lament,” remains one of the most recognized pieces in opera.
Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” composed in 1917–18, takes a sharply different turn. The one-act comedy — Puccini’s only comic opera — centers on a family of greedy relatives who scheme over a dead man’s will, only to be outwitted by the title character. Its aria “O mio babbino caro” is among the most performed in the soprano repertoire. The opera premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in December 1918 as part of Puccini’s “Il Trittico.”
The production takes place in Sexson Auditorium, an Art Deco venue originally opened in 1924 and rebuilt in 1936 after the Long Beach earthquake. The auditorium was rededicated in December 2025 after renovations that included new flooring, new speakers and amplifiers, a new lighting control system, reupholstered seating, and technology upgrades, according to a Pasadena Weekly report. The auditorium’s 100-year-old stage was preserved. The renovations were funded by Measure PCC, a $565 million bond approved by voters in November 2022.
Moreno, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California and was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, heads PCC’s vocal arts and opera program. He described the production in a written statement as a chance to see “everything opera does best: powerful voices, dramatic storytelling, hilarious moments of chaos, and music that has survived centuries for a reason.”
“Most importantly, you’ll see the incredible talent of the PCC students who have worked tirelessly to bring this production to life,” Moreno said in the statement.
He also called the performances an opportunity for audiences to visit the renovated auditorium and learn more about PCC’s opera program.
Moreno, a baritone who has performed with LA Opera, framed the production with a nod to what he described as actor Timothée Chalamet’s characterization of opera as a “dying art.” “As someone who has spent most of his life singing very loudly in multiple languages, I feel personally challenged by that statement,” Moreno said in his written invitation.
The final performance comes Tuesday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. Sexson Auditorium is located at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. on the PCC campus. Tickets are available for purchase via the QR code on the event flyer or by contacting Dr. Moreno at (626) 585-7299 or amoreno127@pasadena.edu. ADA accommodations are available by contacting PCC Human Resources at hrgeneral@pasadena.edu or (626) 585-7388 at least 10 working days before the event.
PCC’s music program includes more than 20 ensembles and collaborations with professional partners including LA Opera and the Pasadena Playhouse. The program produces more than 100 public performances annually, according to the college.
The double bill runs roughly two hours. In that time, audiences will hear music composed more than three centuries apart — one score that ends in a queen’s death, and another that ends with a con man asking the audience for applause.
