Opera Santa Barbara Halloween Double Feature
By Charles Donelan
Opera Santa Barbara is on a roll this season, offering uplifting programs that please audiences while revealing the potential of inter-organizational collaboration to enrich our performing arts community. The El amor brujo of Manuel De Falla is mostly ballet, but with an expressive operatic element provided by the mezzo-soprano soloist, a role sung in this production by Nina Yoshida Nelsen. The curtain opens on two performers playing one character — Nelsen as the voice of the conflicted protagonist, Candelas, and State Street Ballet’s Ahna Lipchik as her dancing embodiment. Thanks to Stacie Logue’s costume design, this twinning was both easy to see and delightful.
To read the full review in the Independent click here!
