Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, announced Wednesday that Opera Santa Barbara has been recommended for a grant of $28,000 to support its April 2012 production of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice.

Opera Santa Barbara is one of three Santa Barbara-based organizations recommended for a grant as part of the NEA’s second round of fiscal year 2011 grants. The other two local groups are the Lobero Theatre and the Contemporary Arts Forum. In total, the endowment will distribute more than $88 million to support 1,145 projects nationwide.

“Opera Santa Barbara is extremely honored to receive such a significant and important grant,” General Director Steven Sharpe said. “Our new production of Orphée et Eurydice will be a dynamic combination of opera and dance. We feel it is critically important to create new productions of traditional operas to engage new audiences, and are extremely grateful for the NEA’s support of our vision.”

Opera Santa Barbara’s production of Orphée et Eurydice will be performed at the Lobero Theatre on April 27 and April 29, 2012. The new production is being conceived and directed by OSB Artistic Director Jose Maria Condemi. The opera will be sung in French with English translations above the stage.

The 2011-12 season will feature productions of La Bohème, Le Nozze di Figaro and Orphée et Eurydice. Subscriptions at a 15 percent discount start at $77 and are on sale May 24 through July 15, when single tickets will be released. To purchase subscriptions, click here or call 805.898.3890.

— Steven Sharpe is general director for Opera Santa Barbara.