Opera Santa Barbara Ends Season With a Wow

by Leslie Dinaberg

 

Let me preface this by saying that I am not even remotely qualified to be an opera critic. For an insightful music guru’s wisdom and cultural/historical context, look at our senior arts writer Josef Woodard’s preview of Opera Santa Barbara’s La Traviata. I am merely a longtime journalist trained to observe and report on what I hear and see, but Opera Santa Barbara’s grand season finale made me into an opera fan.

The drama, the heartbreaking romance, the glamorous stars, the fabulous costumes, clever staging, and incredibly beautiful music — soprano Anya Matanovic’s performance of the emotionally heart wrenching aria “Sempre libera” alone is enough to bring tears to eyes of even the most stoic observers — all added up to a whopper of season ender for Opera Santa Barbara. When it comes to high stakes drama, the Kardashian family has nothing on this lot. The team led by Kostis Protopapas has much to be proud of.

To read the full review in the Independent click here!