Isabel’s Bella Tune

It was an evening of decidedly high note when Lebanese-born soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian performed in a Glorious and Free concert at the Lobero, part of CAMA’s – the Community Arts Music Association – Masterseries.

The performance of Romani-inspired songs and operetta arias featured works by Dvorak, Brahms, Lehar, Salman, and Yvain sung effortlessly by the 1998 Music Academy of the West alumnae, where she was the first winner of the Marilyn Horne Foundation vocal competition.

Bayrakdarian, 48, who has performed around the globe in London, Paris, Milan, Vienna, Florence, and Salzburg, was featured vocalist on the Grammy-winning soundtrack for Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers and teaches at UCSB where she serves as Professor of Voice. She was accompanied by Canadian chamber musicians Mark Fewer, violin, and Jamie Parker, piano.