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For more than 20 years, Opera Santa Barbara has provided live opera to the local community, and supporters came out in masquerade style for an annual benefit held at the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore.
The annual gathering is staged around Valentine’s Day, and the setting — with masks, elegant gowns and black tie — added to the mystery and romance of the evening.
This year’s Opera Ball also proudly acknowledged the career and impact of honoree Marilyn Horne, the famed mezzo-soprano who received a tribute and shared touching words with the adoring crowd.
“Marilyn Horne did such a lovely, heartfelt talk — it was more than we could have dreamed,” Pat Anderson, the event co-chairwoman, told Noozhawk. “The feeling in the room was just a big, warm embrace. Every table was filled with lively guests, engaged and happy.”
Among the accolades for Horne are a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1974, a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gramophone magazine, Kennedy Center honoree in 1995, National Medal of Arts in 1992 and induction to the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
Horne attended the Music Academy of the West in 1953 and, since 1995, has been a member of the faculty, also directing the Voice Program since 1997.
Opera Santa Barbara general director Steven Sharpe emphasized the tone of the evening and Horne’s impact.
“She was so gracious, and once again showed that she is at the forefront of making sure the opera industry thrives while still maintaining it’s special nature,” he said.
The mission of Opera Santa Barbara is to add cultural enrichment by presenting high-quality performances and community programs that showcase the beauty of opera with fully staged productions and programs for families of any age.
Sharpe shared with Noozhawk the importance of community outreach in the arts, and goals for reaching a younger generation of opera enthusiasts and supporters.
“One of the best campaigns we have established is a campaign where we encourage attendance as a group, so the opera experience becomes a social outing in addition to the cultural outing — maybe a cocktail party before or a post-performance party — that makes the whole experience social, inclusive and a way to meet new people,” he explained.
“We are working with several groups in this way, and it has proven to be very successful.”
Some of Opera Santa Barbara’s popular efforts to embrace the community include programs for children and youth.
“We are in the grammar schools bringing opera programs to the children, and we are interested in finding ways to encourage performers at the high school and college levels to consider opera as a viable performance art form,” Sharpe said.
This year, Opera Santa Barbara continues to offer Free Noontime Concerts featuring members of the Mosher Studio Artists Program held at the Santa Barbara Central Library’s Faulkner Gallery. The presentations begin at noon and last about an hour, with the next ones scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25, and April 1, 8 and 15.
The Mosher Studio Artists Program provides valuable training to up-and-coming opera singers with top industry directors, conductors, public performances and coaching in master classes.
And an exciting new upcoming event will be in conjunction with First Thursday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
“I’m really excited,” Sharpe said. “They have a fabulous exhibit of Italian Masters paintings, and our singers will be performing in the gallery — among the paintings — and their music will tie to the paintings.”
As for future plans, Sharpe is inspired to develop a competition through which students would stage an opera scene on their own and compete in a manner similar to a crossover of the TV hits American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
“With an opera scene being the centerpiece, can you imagine what these young performers would come up with?” Sharpe exclaimed. “I bet it would be stunning and very moving.”
Upcoming theatrical events on the schedule for this year include L’Italiana in Algeri by Giochino Rossini on March 6 and 8, and A Streetcar Named Desire by André Previn on April 24 and 26. All performances will be held at The Granada Theatre.
“Opera Santa Barbara offers young and promising artists and singers to shine before they go on to (inter)national stages,” said Paksy Plackis-Cheng, an Opera Santa Barbara board member. “I see a younger generation in our community supporting their contemporaries in realizing their potential.
“Also, because through opera these talented artists mirror parts of what we all go through in life — joy, grief, power and love.”
Opera Santa Barbara wishes to welcome all interested community members with single tickets starting at just $28 and season tickets starting at $77 for the remaining two season operas. For more information on tickets, call Opera Santa Barbara at 805.898.3890, call The Granada at 805.899.2222, or click here to purchase tickets online.
Plackis-Cheng summed up the mood and meaning of the evening in support of these important local arts programs.
“Whether you appreciate a great story, music, costumes, sets, and of course the incredible ability of the human voice, we should do what we can to continue a professional stage to talented singers and artists,” she said. “They help us live our lives to the fullest.”
Click here for more information about Opera Santa Barbara. Click here to make an online donation.
— Noozhawk iSociety columnist Melissa Walker can be reached at mwalker@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
