LA Opera pairs Mario Bava’s cult fantasy with live singers and orchestra at the United Theater, with a costume contest following the Oct. 31 performance. Christopher Lee is on the screen. Hercules is headed for the underworld. Somewhere in the room, an opera singer must keep up with all of it. That is the appealingly strange arrangement behind Hercules vs Vampires, coming to the United Theater on Broadway on Oct. 30 and 31.
LA Opera’s production pairs Mario Bava’s 1961 film Hercules in the Haunted World with Patrick Morganelli’s score, performed live by singers and musicians. The movie supplies the action; the live performance gives its battles, romance and supernatural encounters a new musical life.
Reg Park plays Hercules, with Lee as the ruler Lycos. The hero’s rescue mission sends him into a world of monsters and the dead, providing plenty of material for an operatic treatment. The premise offers an easy invitation to viewers who enjoy cult cinema and are curious about what live voices can do to its sense of scale.
Morganelli wrote both the score and the adapted dialogue for the singers. The work premiered in Oregon in 2010, then underwent extensive revision for LA Opera’s 2015 presentation, including orchestration for nine singers and 26 musicians. Its return builds on a project with an established performance history.
For these dates, Blair Salter makes her LA Opera conducting debut, leading members of the company’s orchestra. Joel Balzun sings Hercules, Alexis Seminario portrays Dianara and Gabriel Manro takes the role of Lycos. The production belongs to Off Grand, LA Opera’s initiative presenting work at venues across the city.
On Oct. 31, the audience can contribute its own visual spectacle. Admission includes an afterparty and costume contest with a $10,000 first prize, plus smaller cash awards for second and third place. Entrants must be at least 18 and present at the afterparty to win; costumes must be handmade or meaningfully modified under the published rules.
The performance runs 75 minutes without an intermission and is sung in English with subtitles. Choose Friday for the film-and-music outing, or Saturday to add a costume and stay for the party. Either way, Broadway gets a hero with an unusually well-supported soundtrack.
For more information about event, visit nhm.org
Plan a visit. Friday–Saturday, October 30–31, 2026, at 8 p.m.
Location: United Theater on Broadway, 929 S. Broadway, Los Angeles.
Running time: 75 minutes, no intermission. Oct. 31 admission includes afterparty and costume contest.
*Select seats on LA Opera’s ticket page for current prices; review costume rules before attending.
Photo credits: Hercules vs Vampires photo courtesy of Craig T. Mathew
