The Beverly Canon Gardens was overflowing with spectators on May 24 as opera singer Golda Zahra performed a free concert at 6:30 p.m., the first of a four-part summer series Zahra is hosting across Los Angeles. Backed by a jazz band ensemble, the concert united people across age groups and demographics as guests enjoyed Broadway hits, vocal jazz favorites, songs and arias including “Quando me’n vo’,” “Mattinata,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Memory,” “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “O mio babbino caro.”
The balmy evening marked the start of summer in Beverly Hills, as both residents and tourists alike crowded around the gardens to watch the performance. Several audience members made an evening of the event, bringing chairs, blankets and picnics to the grassy area outside The Maybourne Beverly Hills, with seats filling up quickly. However, this didn’t stop a full turnout, as many more guests joined the crowd, choosing to stand throughout the whole performance. Brief intermissions by a six-piece jazz ensemble featuring two cellists, a saxophonist and a drummer allowed Zahra to rest her vocal cords between songs, with the jazz band performing classic hits such as “Just the Two of Us” and “Isn’t She Wonderful?”
A proud Beverly Hills native and Beverly Hills High School alumna, Zahra has been singing professionally since the age of 12 and now pursues opera full time after studying in Italy under legendary soprano Barbara Frittoli. Zahra, who won the 2015 Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Award and was a finalist for the 2022 Rai Radio’s “Voice in Barcaccia” international opera competition, has performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royce Hall and the Saban Theatre with ensembles including The Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Burbank Philharmonic, Southeast Symphony, The Dream Orchestra and LA Opera.
Heralded as “the rising star of the opera world” and “a promising young opera singer” by the Los Angeles Times, Zahra is renowned for her impressive vocal range and distinctive voice that captures both the softness and strength of the operatic tones she delivers. At the age of 16, she performed at the Beverly Hills Centennial, and with her Californian roots clearly close to her heart, Zahra returned to the stage in Beverly Hills once again for this event, generously providing the concert free of charge in her hometown.
It’s safe to say that Zahra, who is currently studying with celebrity voice teacher Bill Schuman in New York, wowed the audience with her operatic renditions. Speaking to the Courier during the concert, one attendee, Sarah Golding, said, “It’s wonderful to see a young person singing opera. That’s not something you see very often; [Zahra] has a beautiful voice, she’s very talented and it’s great to see so much of the community out to support her today.”
Taking a bow after performing, Zahra graciously received several lavish bouquets of flowers from spectators as the concert came to a close with rapturous applause around 7:15 p.m. Her next concert will be held on June 13 at St. Monica’s Church in Santa Monica, where Zahra will be joined by the world-renowned Dream Orchestra conducted by Daniel Suk.
