Deer Dad
Marc Swanson grew up in New Hampshire, where his father was a Marine, an Eagle Scout, and a hunter. Among many other things, Swanson’s artwork is an elaborate and gay fantasy about his relationship to his father’s deer hunting.
Charles Donelan
Recent Stories
Just Criticism
What do 32 massed Russian violinists sound like? The National Philharmonic of Russia (NPR) roared into town last week, courtesy of Community Arts Music Association, to answer that question, and much, much more.
Sopranos Soar
Rigoletto, presented by Opera Santa Barbara. At the Lobero Theatre, Saturday, February 24.
S.B. Opera’s Verdi Festival got off to a spectacular start on Saturday with a splendid performance of Rigoletto directed by the distinguished soprano Stephanie Sundine. It was, among other things, a great night for the sopranos, as both Hanan Alattar as Gilda and Tihana Herceg as Maddalena delivered stellar performances.
Masked Feelings
Opera Santa Barbara presents Verdi’s A Masked Ball
The Opera Festival continues this week with A Masked Ball, considered to be one of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpieces and contains some of his most elegant and powerful romantic duets. Yefim Maizel returns to Santa Barbara to direct A Masked Ball.
Caitrin McKiernan
Caitrin McKiernan Brings Martin Luther King JR. to China
On February 5, 26-year-old Caitrin McKiernan made two remarkable public appearances in Santa Barbara: a chancellor’s reception for approximately 60 people at UCSB, and an assembly at San Marcos High School for 1,300 students.
Four Hands
Jaime Laredo. At the Montecito Country Club, Friday, February 23.
This concert was part of the Pearl Chase Society Music Series, a collaboration with UCSB Arts & Lectures that puts on chamber music recitals in historic places.
A Mother Runs through Them
The Memory of Water. At Alhecama Theatre, Friday, February 16. Shows through March 11.
Shelagh Stephenson’s The Memory of Water is a difficult play that offers multiple opportunities for actors to shine. The show, which won the Olivier Award for best new comedy in 2000, has since gone on to attract attention for its strong, character-driven exploration of three sisters’ feelings at the death of their mother.
Bolero Andaluz
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet at the Lobero Theatre, Thursday, February 15; and with the Santa Barbara Symphony at the Arlington Theatre, Saturday, February 17.
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) performed two outstanding concerts here last week as the anchoring element in the symphony’s new International Guitar Festival.
Opera Santa Barbara presents Rigoletto at the Verdi Festival
A Conversation with Maestro Valery Ryvkin
This weekend, the second annual Santa Barbara Opera Festival, Giuseppe Verdi edition, presents Rigoletto at the Lobero Theatre on Saturday night. Next week, the festival will continue with Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, or “The Masked Ball.”
Call Your Ma
Camerata Pacifica February Concert. At Temple
Beth Torah in Ventura, Sunday, February 11.
Camerata Pacifica continues to follow its formula of juxtaposing “difficult” modern compositions with the more adventurous aspects of the standard repertoire. Typically, the first half of the program offers the avant-garde fireworks, while the second soothes with virtuosity in the service of the old masters. This time out the newer works were by Takemitsu, Crumb, and Turnage, while the older pieces were by Beethoven and Debussy.
