Subscription sales have begun for Opera Santa Barbara’s 2017-18 season, which will open with a sumptuous production of Jules Massenet’s sultry Manon on November 3 and 5, followed by a sprightly staging of Gioachino Rossini’s enduring comic masterwork The Barber of Seville on March 2......
Steven Sharpe, who charted an ambitious course for Opera Santa Barbara over 11 years, spearheading the company’s first world premiere and otherwise elevating its stature through a series of new and expanded programmatic initiatives, is stepping down as general director. The company will immediately conduct......
Opera Santa Barbara’s popular Noontime Concert series is now scheduled for the 2017/2018 Season. Concerts will be performed in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Ojai, Solvang and Santa Maria. A total of 26 free concerts will be offered this season! Following is the list of free......
Daniel Hone, a longtime professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara, has been elected to the Board of Directors for Opera Santa Barbara. His three-year term began in May. Born in San Francisco, Mr. Hone completed his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley before earning a......
Two highly accomplished individuals have joined Opera Santa Barbara’s Board of Directors. Eric Small is a noted yoga practitioner and advocate for its use in treating multiple sclerosis and other disorders. Robert W. Weinman is a retired physicist and prominent supporter of performing arts organizations......
The children’s opera Brundibár is a musical jewel for young and old despite its grim history at the showcase Nazi concentration camp at Theresienstadt (Terezín). Fred Golden details the work’s creative wonders and tragic backstory in the video below. Treat yourself and your kids to......
The Santa Barbara Youth Opera, in collaboration with Ojai Youth Opera and the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, will present a fully staged production of Brundibár, Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása’s uniquely affecting children’s opera, at the Lobero Theatre on Saturday, May 20. Performances will take......
Opera Santa Barbara is proud to lend its voice to the tributes pouring in for the extraordinary Michael Towbes, who died early yesterday at age 87. “Michael will be greatly missed by Opera Santa Barbara,” said Board Chair Nancy M. Golden. “His loyal, enthusiastic, and......
Back by popular demand, due to a sold-out audience in March, Opera Santa Barbara is partnering with Tre Lune Restaurant to offer a second Opera Night on Tuesday, May 9. The evening features a prix fixe four-course dinner, with each course preceded by opera arias......
Opera Santa Barbara will conclude its 23rd season with the company’s premiere production of Giacomo Puccini’s sensuous and poignant operetta La Rondine at the historic Granada Theatre on April 28 and 30. Performances will take place at 7:30 pm on Friday, April 28, and at......