Josef Woodard

Aida Cuevas | Photo: David Bazemore Musical Women Ruling Taking stock of the thicket of concerts descending on the Santa Barbara scene thus far in the fall, some of the most memorable nights out have featured celebrated and seasoned women, still making waves and owning stages. Last week, the great fado heroine Mariza bedazzled the Lobero Theatre crowd with one of this year's finest outings on the heels of 85-year-old gospel-soul queen Mavis Staples at the Arlington. (To this list we can add the inimitable Lucinda Williams at the Arlington the week prior: sadly, I was out of town for that one). And on Sunday night, the Arlington was packed with super fans of another super diva, the great “Queen of Mariachi” Aida Cuevas , who held the crowd in thrall for two hours of greatest hits of mariachi, ranchera, and other stops on the regional Mexican music map. Many in the predominantly Hispanic crowd, an all-ages and wholly engaged gathering, seemed to know most of the lyrics and happily sang along, whether invited by Cuevas or otherwise. Cuevas, backed by a sharp — and sharply dressed — 12-piece mariachi band, spanned a range of songs from her nearly 50-year career, along with a tribute to the bestselling Mexican artist of all time, Juan Gabriel, who died in 2016. At one point, Cuevas engaged in a semi-posthumous “duet” with Gabriel, shown singing his parts on screen. A highlight of the night came with the mini-set of songs sung by her fetching and talented daughter Valeria Cuevas. While marquee Mexican music concerts make their way through town, at the Chumash Casino and occasionally at Santa Barbara Bowl (including the Mariachi Festival), this was a special occasion when a presenter such as UCSB Arts & Lectures paid due respects to the obviously eager Mexican music audience in the area. Symphonic Opening Night Moves Warhorses need love, too. And polish. And maybe sometimes a bit of back story. All those attributes were in the big house of The Granada Theatre, when the Santa Barbara Symphony (SBS) opened its concert season last weekend, with a program propped up by the ear-friendly old shoe favorites of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. Maestro Nir Kabaretti and his orchestra did not disappoint in cleanly and expressively delivering what we want from these conventionally wise symphonic staples. Déjà vu wafted through the house with the return of the virtuosic Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, who performed the ever-popular Rodrigo concerto with this orchestra in 2017 and also performed Elmer Bernstein's Guitar Concerto here. Although he has no doubt played this piece countless times (it comes with the territory in the lean territory of classical guitar/orchestra literature), his performance here was rich with measured intensity and open-eared dialogue with the orchestra. After intermission, Kabaretti opted to break with tradition of “don't ask/don't tell” protocol during a classical concert and offered a kind of pre-concert lecture/demo/short tour through Tchaikovsky's Fourth before launching into the piece. He had the benefit of live musicians to perform snippets and themes from the score. Local orchestra concert aficionados had just heard this very piece on this stage a week prior, in an almost impeccable performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and wondered how our Symphony's reading would rate, comparatively. In all, the SBS reading was strong and admirable, if lacking the harnessed precision of the music's visit a week earlier. Kabaretti and company brought nuance and force to the mercurial emotional contours of the Symphony, bringing the music to life, in all its grand, varied glory. Off to the left of oft-traveled repertoire were two small gems on the program. As part of the SBS marketing hook of a “Tchaikovsky Immersion” going on, the late and beloved Santa Barbara–based composer Emma Lou Diemer's brief concert-opening appetizer Homage to Tchaikovsky (commissioned by the orchestra in 2001) treated us with her luminous orchestration touch and a melodic agenda owing as much to the influence of Copland as Tchaikovsky. It was a wistfully tinged pleasure to hear her music alive and well, around the time of Sunday afternoon's memorial at the First Presbyterian Church (where she was the organist for many years). As a surprise encore, Sáinz-Villegas and the orchestra called on the elegant “ nuevo tango ” business of Astor Piazzolla's famed “Libertango.” The moment reminded some of us of the SBS era led by maestro Gisele Ben-Dor, an inspired Uruguayan musician who ushered many intriguing musical sounds from Latin America — including a tango festival — during her tenure here. Next up in the SBS' seven-concert 2024-25 season, guest conductor/pianist David Greilsammer leads a “French Connections” program (Sunday afternoon, November 17), with Rameau, Ravel, Milhaud and token non-Frenchman Haydn on the menu. TO-DOINGS This week, two very fine singers will alight the Lobero stage, from different stylistic camps and home bases. On Saturday, the beloved part-time Santa Barbaran Tina Schlieske , generally a part of the rock/Americana orbit, brings her Minneapolis-based band and slips into the loosely-defined “Jazz at the Lobero” series, celebrating the jazz chanteuse side of her music, as heard on her new album The Good Life . On Wednesday, October 30, the always magnetic and just-left-of-center Aimee Mann returns to town. Also at the Lobero, Los Lobos returns, on Friday, October 25, in what is becoming a most happy act-venue relationship. At Campbell Hall on Wednesday, the acclaimed Malian veteran artist Habib Koite (see story here ) brings his unique sound, rooted in his West African heritage, but flecked with American blues (itself with a root system in West Africa) and even sprinklings of classical guitar influence. It's a rare instance of high-profiled African music in the 805 this year, live and alluring. For deeper blues variant action, popular blues-rock guitarist-singer Joe Bonamassa makes one of his rare appearances in Santa Barbara on Monday night, in the grand palatial digs of the Granada

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra brings its streamlined orchestral presence and mastery to CAMA season-opener at the Granada.

Art & Soul gallery is happily hunkered in the Funk Zone, for now.

CAMA brings the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra to the Granada for an “International Series” performance, linked to a Venetian/Vivaldian theme.

Continuing Saga of “Tales” On many a Wednesday over the past 23 years, Santa Ynez' cowboy-vibe-y Maverick Saloon has been duly transformed into a song culture palace. The transformation comes courtesy of the unique series known as “Tales from the Tavern,” bravely founded and helmed by siblings Ron and Carole Ann Colone, with the patronage and hearty support of various parties all over the Santa Ynez Valley. The series has become a rootsy musical pageantry and dress-as-you-are success story of an importance reaching far beyond county lines, and a fine model of how to celebrate rootsy music and yes, tale-spinning is also part of the performers' recipe for success. The current series opened with Paul Thorn and closes with Dave Stamey on November 13 (sold out, but wait list-enabled). Gazing at the list of past artists in the Tales series program book indexes a dizzying array of important musicians from the worlds of the singer-songwriter, Americana, recovered punksters, and vets of note, including Dave Alvin, Joan Baez, Rodney Crowell, Donovan, John Doe, Janis Ian, Chris Smither, Jimmy LaFave, and two of my favorites — Bonnie Prince Billy and Shelby Lynne. But a lot of the magic happens in the margins, with musician's musicians and insider heroes — from the underdog world of what Peggie Jones, for many years the dogged head of the similar “Sings Like Hell” series at the Lobero, called music by “the best artists you've never heard of.” Such an artist-deserving-wider-recognition — Robbie Fulks — settled into the Tales domain two weeks ago and duly bedazzled all aboard. I sheepishly confess to my ignorance of this unique artist, a strikingly fine guitarist in the country-bluegrass-new-folk modes and a strong singer whose songs are literate, twangy, and often hilarious. Consider me a convert. Now 61, Fulks is a bespectacled, tall drink of wry wit and musical inspiration, and boasts a biography with a wandering but logical trajectory, from North Carolina to Greenwich Village to life as a Music Row staff songwriter in Nashville, and is now having his songs anointed by TV placements. He has also written about music and has enjoyed the company of some legendary musicians — such as certifiably hip jazz/new music/etcetera violinist Jenny Scheinman, who played with him at his 2022 Tales show. His discography, 15 albums deep, most recently tapped his rich bluegrass cred on last year's Bluegrass Vacation , from which he played “Old Time Music is Here to Stay” — with some badass banjo picking in tow. Fulks's Tales show was speckled with wry between-song patter, tales from his own life — as in his anecdotal religious life yarn “Seventies Jesus” and the wistful saga of leaving the humble hometown for the outside world and opportunity, “Fare Thee Well, Carolina Gals.” He dipped into balladic poignancy with “The Buck Starts Here,” and socio-historical compassion worked in as well in “Alabama at Night.” “Bands,” a satirical ditty written during the pandemic lockdown, is a crazy-funny song — amplified by a crowd sing along — about the irritating obsession with trivial details of one's old bands, including the yawn-some tales told by his plumber. Early in the show, the ever-droll and self-effacing Fulks warned us, “I'll be throwing out a lot of old-fashioned pop culture references, because I'm out of touch. I'm not that likable of a guy, so I'll be foolin' ya.” We were effectively fooled, and the evening's final impression was that Fulks is very much in touch — with a cultural world of his own devising and reconstructing. Kristofferson Echoes, Continued Kris Kristofferson's passing a few weeks back left a chasm on a hip side street of American musical culture, where inspired songwriters help create the collective unconscious bed of songs covered by many and massaging our memories. Of course, more than most famed songwriters, Kristofferson became a legend of his own multi-leveled making, involving his part-time status as an outlaw country artist, gruff-toned character singer, actor, activist, and Rhodes Scholar from his own school of cool. I think back to one of the interviews I did with Kristofferson, then 80 and about to play the Lobero. He spoke fondly of Robert Altman's masterful Nashville , an under-appreciated item in Kristofferson's filmography, which led to the subject of the then recently released Crazy Heart , starring his friend (and Santa Barbaran) Jeff Bridges, whose protagonist bore a possible resemblance to Kristofferson in his wilder youth. Kristofferson commented, “I remember thinking it looked like a drunken version of some of my history. I've always thought I looked like Jeff, or he looked like me, one or the other. That first film he did, Fat City , when I saw that, I thought he looked like my little brother. I've heard a lot of people say he was channeling me or something. I'd like to think that my life has been a little happier and more successful. But (music producer) T Bone (Burnett) and Jeff are old friends.” Bridges' friendly, grizzled charisma is also easily compared to Kristofferson, and when this flustered journalist bid adieu thusly: Well, Jeff … I'm sorry, Kris , I don't want to keep you. Don't call me Jeff anymore. Sorry, that was a Freudian slip. Unless when you talk to Jeff, you call him Kris … (laughs). TO-DOINGS: For those who haven't had their party-timing fill by Halloween, head over to SOhO on Friday, November 1, for the special and fittingly named show known as “ Zach Gillʻs Underground Dance Party Gift celebrating SOhO's 30th Anniversary.” Say no more. Gill, whose musical life includes keyboardist/ally duties with Jack Johnson, and his own jam-alicious entity ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra), is sure to summon up a surprising and dance-happy party gift come Friday. The Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara is back in our faces and ears this weekend, and always a great reason to get out of the house. The ambitious ensemble founded and led by multi-instrumentalist and multi-idea-nurturing musician Adam Phillips has found a happy groove and a devoted audience for a season of carefully crafted concert programs around select themes. Following this season's opening program of “Sounds of the Sixties!,” the upcoming thematic handle is “Fall Harvest,” to be unveiled in the inviting intimate ambiences of St. Mark's-in-the-Valley church in Los Olivos, El Presidio Chapel, and Trinity Episcopal Church. Folk music of a different flavor and geo-cultural nature are headed to Community Arts Workshop on Saturday night, with the arrival of Hawaiian artist of note Leokāne Pryor and slack key specialist Kimo West John Lyle will also be on hand for a solo guitar set. The show, part of the local music-linked “4XSB Music Series,” is a co-presentation of CAW and S.B. Acoustic , responsible for ushering in a rich harvest of acoustic guitarists from far and wide into our town in the past several years.

Zach Gill at SOhO, November 1, 2024 | Photo: Josef Woodard As just one of the unique features of last Friday's SOhO shindig “Zach Gill's underground dance party,” clubgoers were forced to enter through an attitude adjusting portal — by order of the artist-in-charge. A large, dark tented structure, turned shrine-like with accouterments and photos of belated music celebrities, was perfectly timed with Dia de Los Muertos celebrations and traditions on November 1. We passed through to SOhO's outdoor patio leading into the club proper, as if passing through a cleansing zone and arriving on an implied “other side,” to an acceptance of what Gill, our resident mystical tour guide and merriment counselor said late in the show, “what a weird and wonderful thing it is being human.” We've grown accustomed to expecting creative twists on standard pop music presentations from Gill, going back to shows with his band ALO — with a long history of shows in this very space — and on stages large and larger in his role as Jack Johnson's wily right-hand man. A man of many keyboards, Gill can also be counted on to bust out the mighty accordion for our listening pleasure, as he did on this night, to the tune of Madonna's “Into the Groove.” Also on this night, empowered and enabled by the Halloween/Dia de Los Muertos timing, he donned and shed various costumes and musical guises. At one point during the solo portion of the show, Gill busted into a song inspired by some advice from an old friend and the Independent's own Matt Kettmann — “protect yourself with appropriate apprehension” — and eventually stripped away his lab coat in outer layers to reveal a startling musculature outfit. Memories of anatomy book illustrations mixed it up with Halloween abandon at that moment. It was in keeping with a running theme of the evening, concerning the actual and metaphorical dimensions of snakes shedding their skin. Theatrical and conceptualist notions aside, Gill proved true to the advertising and also delivered on the dance party front. That aspect kicked into high yet rootsy gear with the impressive opener Katie Skene, a powerful singer from the blues/Americana/soul front. She also happens to be a badass guitarist, boasting a special and soulful way with slide playing on her Duane Allman-approved Gibson SG. Katie Skene at SOhO, November 1, 2024 | Photo: Josef Woodard After a solo set which included Gill's gleeful anti-anthem “Nonsense Brigade,” his fine band joined the stage — in lab coats, natch — and upped the energy ante, from Gill's classic “Joy” to a groove-lined take on Neil Young's timeless (and yet seasonally timely) “Harvest Moon” and the funk-fueled “Sweet Spot.” Magic happened, as well, on a slippery-grooved “Abracadabra,” with Skene joining in. Dance fever, of the underground, hippy sort, took over the room. Respects for legendary musicians who have passed on found a natural subject in the recently belated Phil Lesh, with a singalong version of the Grateful Dead tune “Ripple” — with its fitting refrain “let there be songs to fill the air.” The song fest concluded with Gill's own final encore, “Up from Down Below,” from his Life in the Multiverse album. In all, Gill's latest SOhO show was much more than another gig. It was an event , with muscle and blood and soul, and spirits having both flown and landed. Guests entered via the Dia de Los Muertos shrine zone at SOhO, November 1, 2024 | Photo: Josef Woodard Sat, Nov 09 10:00 AM SANTA BARBARA Sat, Nov 09 5:00 PM Santa Ynez Fri, Nov 08 5:00 PM Santa Barbara Sun, Nov 10 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Sun, Nov 17 11:00 AM Solvang Sat, Dec 14 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 07 5:00 AM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 07 4:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 07 5:00 PM Goleta Fri, Nov 08 9:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Nov 09 10:00 AM SANTA BARBARA Sat, Nov 09 5:00 PM Santa Ynez Fri, Nov 08 5:00 PM Santa Barbara Sun, Nov 10 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Sun, Nov 17 11:00 AM Solvang Sat, Dec 14 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 07 5:00 AM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 07 4:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 07 5:00 PM Goleta Fri, Nov 08 9:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Nov 09 10:00 AM SANTA BARBARA Sat, Nov 09 5:00 PM Santa Ynez

John Craigie performs at the Lobero Nov. 15| Photo: Savannah Lauren Finding a pithy description of where cult hero singer-songwriter John Craigie is coming from, and going, is a difficult task, testament to the unique creative voice/identity he has created for himself. But the Seattle paper The Stranger comes close to touching on the Craigie paradox, describing him as “the lovechild of John Prine and Mitch Hedberg with a vagabond troubadour edge.” In other words, Craigie operates in Woody Guthrie's line of work, but with a meta-mouth attached. He's serious, and serious about his comic asides.

Orchestrated Folk, Mali Calls and Grooves, Bach Goes Public Last Weekend's Musical Menu Included a Bach-Polished Plaza Palooza, Malian Groove Machinist Habib Koite and a Harvest Mooning From the Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara Of all the impressive and varied music I wrapped my ears around in the past week, probably the most memorable moment arrived in the form of a pleasant and very public surprise. The setting: “Plaza Palooza,” the long-awaited grand opening of the 106-year-old Central Library's new plaza and revamped interior. A block party was in order, with a hefty slice of the citizenry joining in the celebratory fizz and buzz, moving between a bounty of booths, lip-smacking foodstuffs (from Mony's and Elubia's Kitchen), and historical displays, along with a schedule of music, dance, and speechifying. Suddenly, as part of the slot given over to Santa Barbara's cherished presenter CAMA, there came the purifying and galvanizing sound of Bach for unaccompanied violin, beautifully played by the gifted, young, and locally based violinist Sofia Malvinni . Time stood still and business-as-usual was blissfully disrupted, transformed by this rare encounter of Bach and the general public. More, please. When Mali Met the Campbell On the eve of hallows eve last week, Campbell Hall was thoroughly and predictably awash in good vibes. Such is the upshot of musical and emotional spirits whenever Habib Koité strikes up his band. Malian music royalty Koité, now 66, alighted the “world music” scene three decades ago with his infectious rippling guitar style and warming, griot-grounded vocal powers. He was one of the figures who helped train musical focus on the foundational values of West African music. And with his current all-star group — with masterful balafon player (and builder) Aly Keїta, kora player Lamine Cissokho, and percussionist Mama Kone — Koité affably commandeered a Campbell Hall show, celebrating MandéSila, the way of the Mandingo empire and West African culture. From an admittedly more ethnocentric perspective, the show reminded us once again — in bubbling real time — that West African music, far from being an exotic or esoteric slice of musicology, is a root source of American Gospel, blues, R&B, and many strands of pop music. Among the critical points of distinction are the elasticity of musical structures (theirs are not tidy, formulaic songs) and the hypnotic pulsations of a deep rhythmic undertow. In other words, Koité's Malian good vibe machine was well-oiled and ready for action, as expected. Harvesting a Celtic and Folky Orchestral Sound As it leans towards the milestone ten-year-old mark next season, the ambitious Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara has established its agenda, built up a hungry audience, and has a willingness to explore new twists and themes as it ventures future-ward. Founder, arranger, situationist, multi-instrumentalist, and fine singer Adam Phillips cooked up a tasty smorgasbord for last weekend's “Fall Harvest” program, including doses of his fascination for things Celtic and folklorically Spanish with a touch of lounge-suitable crooning on his slow, low-brew “Autumn Leaves” and a Neil Young's masterpiece “Harvest Moon.” Other highlights of the program, which I caught in the friendly environs of Trinity Episcopal Church (after Friday and Saturday stops at St. Mark's in the Valley and the Presidio Chapel), included a gorgeous accordion solo by Brian Mann on “Remember Me,” from the magical film Coco . (Mann, a go-to accordionist in various musical and show biz dimensions, played on the Coco score as well as on Encanto , and will appear at the special Arlington Encanto Sing-Along show on Thursday, November 14). In the “small group” category, fine violinist/fiddler Devyn Quarles and guitarist Josh Jenkins got cooking in a Celtic fashion, and cellist Jacqueline Greenshields took on a challenging solo arrangement of “Down by the Salley Gardens,” mixing melody in shifting registers with double stops and other gymnastically twining schemes. In a second set highlight, guest vocalist Kathleen Sieck stepped up to radiantly ennoble the tune with the hardest-to-pronounce title (unless you're hip to Gaelic), “ Bothan Àirigh am Bràigh Raithneach .” For those of us who are out of the know, the English title is “A Sheiling on the Braes of Rannoch.” You learn things at FOSB shows, in addition to benefiting from the warm wash of musical goodness, whatever the source or language. TO-DOINGS Next up in the always intriguing chamber music series in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art's Mary Craig Auditorium is the rightly acclaimed Cuarteto Latinoamericano on Sunday afternoon, November 10, at 2 p.m. Known for its adventurous instincts in programming, the quartet is presenting a “Tribute to the Americas,” with music of Brazilian great Héitor Villa-Lobos, George Gershwin, Argentine titan Astor Piazzolla, Samuel Barber's famed “Adagio for Strings” and Dvorak's “American” Quartet. Eminent American violinist Itzhak Perlman pays one of his periodic visits to Santa Barbara, in a UCSB Arts & Lectures concert at the Granada tonight (November 7), with a special aggregation of celebrated classical icons. He will be joined by two pianists, Emanuel Ax and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and the historic Juilliard String Quartet (whose most seasoned player now, for the record, is former Santa Barbaran Ronald Copes). Leclair, Mozart, and Chausson populate the program. We've been fortunate to catch the great American singer-songwriter-downhome-brainiac John Hiatt many times in town, going back to a show at the old Oscar's nightclub, in cahoots with Lyle Lovett and elsewhere. But hearing Hiatt in the intimate embrace of the Lobero Theatre, where he plays on Tuesday, November 12, counts as something special, and something to mark calendars for. The Hoosier turned Los Angeleno turned Nashviller (the hip quarter) leaned into the country side for 2001's fetching album Leftover Feelings , with dobro legend Jerry Douglas on hand to swap riffs and have a kindly musical chat. In other Lobero news, Opera Santa Barbara kicks off its compact but action-packed 2004-05 season on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, on the turf of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (see story here ). For a hearty blast of Baroque music, proceed to the next CAMA concert, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra 's program Venetian Splendor: Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Gondola Songs , on Tuesday, November 12 (see story here

The new center, taking over the former Fiesta 5 theater downtown, opens its doors this weekend.

Opera Santa Barbara's production of ‘Pagliacci', November 9, 2024, Lobero Theatre | Photo: Zach Mendez Opera Santa Barbara , the treasured and resilient cultural institution, has long proven itself more than adept at delivering the goods on both tragic and comic ends of the opera repertoire spectrum. Rarely, though, has OSB successfully wrestled with a tragicomic and paradoxical beast on the order of Pagliacci , which opened OSB's new season at the Lobero Theatre last week with great panache and, yes, gnashing torment. In Leoncavallo's 1890 tale of a fierce cuckolded clown, the circus element comes to town and to the stage in the giddy and gag-lined opening of Act II. All the gushing and clowning mirth of the scene, duly captured in stage director Octavio Cardenas' fascinating staging, shifts abruptly into dark and murderous dynamics. Our spirit of comic glee is effectively wiped off our face as the gods of operatic tragedy descend to the bitter end. But enough with the sly allusion to last week's election night. Opera Santa Barbara's production of ‘Pagliacci', November 9, 2024, Lobero Theatre | Photo: Zach Mendez OSB, which does a stellar job of making opera a valid art form in our midst — by whatever means necessary — has triumphed once again. The company's season-opener boasted an impressive ensemble of singer/actors — especially the robustly voiced Robert Stahley as the tortured clown whose show must go on and his unfaithful wife Nedda, the gymnastic passion juggler boldly realized by soprano Alaysha Fox. Her lovers and betrayers Silvio and Beppo were also assuredly embodied by Benjamin Brecher and Matthew Peterson, respectively. (Pop culture trivia note: Canio's famed Act I closing aria “ Vesti la giubba ” has been oft-repurposed in many pop/commercial contexts, including a Rice Krispies commercial I can't now unhear: “no more Rice Krispies, we're all out of Rice Krispies…”) A flexible and supportive orchestral sound rose from the orchestra pit, crisply conducted by OSB's multitasking leader Kostis Protopaspas, and kudos were deserved for the suitably vintage and flamboyant costumes (managed by Stacie Logue), the work of scenic and projection designer Daniel Chapman and lighting director Helena Kuukka. But wait, there's more: this production was distinguished by a clever and well-suited staging scheme, which airlifted the original opera's 19th century comedia dell ‘arte setting to the realm of Italian cinema circa the mid-20th century neo-realism period. The first sound we heard in the Lobero was not Leoncavalo's overture, but the rickety whir of a period projector, as the curtain opened on a '50s -era Italian film set. The natural fourth wall framing of the Opera, with its teasing narrator Tonio (Ben Lowe) explaining away the drama's magic tricks, worked perfectly in cinematic garb. Studio lights and a bulbous vintage pickup truck set the stage alongside a mock vintage camera, occasionally used to film and project live footage of characters in action and in song. Further stage setting arrived as snippets of archival cinema flashed by — including Buster Keaton and Giulietta Masina from Fellini's La Strada . The whiff of Fellini ambience offers a foreshadowing of the second act's tragicomic abandon at the circus — as seen in the final scene of Fellini's In the theatrical balance of the many elements in this entrancing OSB concoction lies a framework which both draws us into the characters' angst and murderous impulses while distancing us from the grit and blood of the story. We can empathize with the opera's emotionally wrought characters, while settling back into the detached observer mindset, with its handy mantra “it's only an opera/movie.” Touche, OSB. Thu, Nov 14 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Nov 23 2:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 28 12:00 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Dec 14 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Nov 13 4:30 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Nov 13 6:00 PM Virtual Wed, Nov 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Nov 13 9:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 14 4:00 PM Lompoc Thu, Nov 14 5:00 PM Carpinteria Thu, Nov 14 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Nov 23 2:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 28 12:00 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Dec 14 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Nov 13 4:30 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Nov 13 6:00 PM Virtual Wed, Nov 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Nov 13 9:00 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Nov 14 4:00 PM Lompoc Thu, Nov 14 5:00 PM Carpinteria Thu, Nov 14 7:30 PM Santa Barbara