Operatic Onramping

It has been said that the ongoing saga of Opera Santa Barbara (OSB) has experienced a narrative arc of somewhat operatic dimensions. The company, launched in 1994 by Marilyn Gilbert and Nathan Rundlett and now run by the multi-talented and intrepid Kostis Protopapas, weathered the storms and strictures of the pandemic era with resourceful ideas.

After a previous season ranging from an overly grand and ambitious Carmen at the Granada to the crowd-pleasing contemporary opera Zorro at the Lobero, the OSB story continues in a measured but upward way. Its stripped-down but essential three-production season kicks off with Leoncavallo’s classic Pagliacci (in English, “Clowns”) November 8 and 10 and continues with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Feb. 21 and 23) and Donizetti’s The Daughter of the
Regiment (May 2 and 4), all in the intimate, former-opera-house quarters of the Lobero.

We recently checked in with Protopapas for a progress report and preview of what’s to come in the world of OSB.

A solid trio of operas is slated for the upcoming season — Pagliacci, Marriage of Figaro, and The Daughter of the Regiment. Was it in your mind to focus on standard repertoire this season, versus the more varied programming of the last few seasons?

No two seasons are ever the same, and, in the case of OSB, predictable is the last thing we’d ever want to be. Every year, the goal is to come up with a season that excites the team and the board — and me! — that contains some element of surprise, and is consistent with our forecasted financial resources.

You can’t cover the entire spectrum of the repertoire with three operas. We feel that OSB has established its bona fides in both the classic and contemporary repertoire, and our audience will trust us wherever we go. There is no contemporary opera this season, but neither is there any Puccini or Verdi. Yet, we’re selling out.

Left: ‘Pagliacci‘ star Robert Stahley | Photo: Dune Alford. Right: ‘Pagliacci ‘star Alaysha Fox | Photo: Courtesy

What can you tell me about the Pagliacci production? Are there particular unconventional aspects that we should know about?

The idea behind our production is inspired by mid-20th-century Italian cinema, and Fellini’s La Strada in particular. I’ve wanted to explore that idea for a long time, and Octavio Cardenas and Daniel Chapman have taken it and run with it. I don’t want to reveal too much, but there are a couple of production elements that I believe will get applause.

Do you have particular feelings about this piece and its place in the operatic canon?

It is one of my favorite operas — really, some of the best 90 minutes of music in the history of
opera. The way the chorus is written it brings the audience on stage, making the drama almost
unbearably real.

Opera Santa Barbara has been through various sea changes in the past few years, during and after COVID. How would you compare the coming season with what has come since 2020?

As I reported to the OSB Board last month, the company is overall in the best position it has been since I joined it in 2015. We evaluate ourselves based on four criteria: producing great art, filling the seats, paying our bills on time, and being a great place to work. We are currently checking off all four boxes.

The first criteria, great art, I believe we’ve been meeting for some time now. I think most of the people who attended our productions last season will agree. As far as filling the seats goes, after selling out Trovatore and Zorro last season, our 24-25 sales are way ahead from where they’ve ever been at this time of year. It seems that at this point, audiences trust our brand to deliver amazing performances every single time.

On the financial front, after hitting a bump last year, which we overcame, thanks to those loyal local foundations and donors who stepped up, we right-sized our operations and our outlook is better than it’s been in years. Donations are better than expected so far this season, and, together with the strong ticket sales I mentioned above, signal strong constituent approval.

Finally, company morale is high: With some new systems in place, our day-to-day operations are more efficient than ever, and our team members can focus on doing what they love best and being creative in a mostly worry-free environment. For sure, we are in our sweet spot right now, and I think everyone will get a sense of that at Pagliacci.

You are in touch with the state of the art in the opera world: How would you say things are faring at this point, generally? Is there still a sense of a slow recovery in motion?

I think everyone is doing better now. It seems that the “return to the theaters” that we were hoping for in 2021 is just now happening. Opera, whether it’s old, new, large, small, or everything in between, will never cease to amaze and inspire. I think right now the companies who understand their audiences, play to their strengths, and keep the drama on the stage will do best.

Opera Santa Barbara presents Pagliacci at the Lobero Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.) on Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 10, at 2:30 p.m. For more information, see operasb.org.