Opera SB News
April 17, 2023
Costume Designer Azucena Dominguez highlights her design process for The Valkyrie. The concept of the Valkyries came from the first conversation I had with Crystal. Our inspiration was Game of…
April 3, 2023
Stage Director Crystal Manich returns to Opera Santa Barbara for the second installment of Wagner's Ring Cycle after directing Das Rheingold in 2021. She gives us her vision for The…
March 28, 2023
This week we begin rehearsals for Richard Wagner’s The Valkyrie. Small opera companies like ours don’t often get a chance to perform Wagner. When produced on full scale, his operas place…
February 9, 2023
For Nina Yoshida Nelsen, An American Dream marks her tenth production with Opera Santa Barbara, and the twentieth anniversary of her company debut as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Born…
January 29, 2023
Ahead of Opera Santa Barbara’s California premiere of An American Dream, the production’s Stage Director, Richard Gammon, and Set and Projection Designer, Yuki Izumihara, give a sneak peak at the…
January 10, 2023
Opera Santa Barbara is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $10,000. This…
January 5, 2023
Nina Yoshida Nelsen, mezzo soprano is an avid advocate for equity in the arts. She is perhaps most well known for her countless performances of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with…
January 5, 2023
After three years as Opera Santa Barbara’s Director of Development, Nina Dunbar will leave on January 15 to undertake the position of Donor Advisement Officer at the Santa Barbara Education Foundation.…
October 18, 2022
Director Josh Shaw talks about our next opera in the 22|23 season, La scala di seta. There is nothing that gives me more joy than directing a silly bel canto comedy. And…
October 10, 2022
Opera Santa Barbara Costume Manager Stacie Logue gives us the background on costuming our next opera in the 22|23 season, La scala di seta. Opera Santa Barbara’s next main stage…
September 22, 2022
OSB TICKET FAQs Over the last year we have made some changes to our ticket pricing and policies. Some of our new practices differ from those of other arts organizations,…
September 20, 2022
Painting Tosca with Light Opera Santa Barbara’s Director of Production is also veteran Lighting Designer, Helena Kuukka. Helena recently did the lighting design for last season’s Semele, As One, and…
September 20, 2022
OPERA AMBASSADORS GET A BEHIND-THE-CURTAIN TOUR AND LEARN ABOUT LIGHTWALKING On September 14, a dozen Opera Ambassadors (aka OSB volunteers) quite literally enjoyed a rare peek behind the curtain, into…
September 15, 2022
Before Opera Santa Barbara's 22|23 Season opener, Puccini's Tosca, we asked some questions of tenor Adam Diegel who will be playing Tosca's lover, Mario Cavaradossi . Some of you may…
September 12, 2022
Ahead of Opera Santa Barbara's 22|23 Season opener, Puccini's Tosca, we asked some questions of bass-baritone Wayne Tigges who will be playing the villain, Baron Scarpia. Some of you may…
September 6, 2022
We are just a few weeks from the 22|23 Season opener of Tosca at the Granada Theatre on October 1. We spoke with Greek soprano Eleni Calenos who will star…
July 12, 2022
MEET OUR NEW BOARD CHAIR! We chat with incoming OSB Board Director Nicholas Burlett about Tosca, tech companies, and his latest cocktail creation, “the Ersatz Albanian". . What was your first…
July 1, 2022
In life and in the arts, we make our entrances and exits. It's always a bittersweet feeling when a show is finished, but we can always look forward to the…
June 16, 2022
Diane Louise Dodds-Reichert January 7, 1947-March 22, 2022 A Remembrance by David Reichert For eleven years I had the privilege of being Diane’s loving partner. After four years, we married,…
June 15, 2022
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.…