Montecito’s McIntyre Returns to Celebrate Maria Callas’ Centennial

The entire opera world and other cultural institutions are all taking note of Maria Callas again as the 100th birthday of the soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century approaches on December 2. That includes both Angelina Jolie, who will star in an upcoming biopic, and Opera Santa Barbara (OSB), who presents La Divina: The Art of Maria Callas, as a special tribute to the Greek singer at the Lobero Theatre on November 10.

The concert is part of a collaboration with Hellenic Studies at UCSB that also brought London-based opera scholar Helena Matheopoulos to talk about Callas at the theater earlier this week, but Friday’s gala concert is the performance centerpiece. 

Callas, of course, was such a big star with a vast and varied repertoire that OSB is employing two of its favorite sopranos, Jana McIntyre and Eleni Calenos, to sing a dozen of the diva’s best-known arias and ensembles, including selections from Norma, The Barber of Seville, Lucia di Lammermoor, Otello,and more, accompanied by the OSB Orchestra conducted by Kostis Protopapas. Tenors Robert Stahley and Xavier Prado, mezzo soprano Max Potter, baritones Matthew Peterson and Omar Rodriguez, and bass Colin Ramsey will make guest appearances in ensembles from Tosca, Rigoletto, and Un Ballo in Maschera.

“Maria Callas is one of the most recognized voices in history, a true artist who was very dedicated to the score, the composer, and the music,” said McIntyre, who grew up in Montecito and first performed as a student at Crane School. “I’ve always deeply, deeply respected and take into consideration her performances of some of the things that I’ve sung in my career.” 

While it’s exciting to sing some of Callas’ most famous works, McIntyre said it’s also a bit intimidating to perform in a concert tribute to a legend. 

“I’m never going to sing like her or sound like her, of course, but I have interpolated a couple of the ornaments that she recorded, adding things, even if they’re my own embellishments that are related to how she might have done it,” she said. “But the human voice is so unique to everyone. It’s like a fingerprint. And there’s only one Maria Callas.” 

Choral Music, Continued

Elsewhere in classical singing, Santa Barbara Master Chorale performs its fall concerts featuring Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem in D Minor,” which focuses on eternal rest and consolation, and John Rutter’s “Gloria,” which is based on a Gregorian chant text associated with the Ordinary of the Mass, with three movements – proclamatory, prayerful, and joyfully affirmative. The chorale’s artistic director, choral conducting doctoral candidate David Lozano Torres, who also leads UCSB Lumina Choir and the ensemble Vocal Infinity and serves as assistant conductor of the UCSB Chamber Choir, conducts the program on November 11 and 12 at the First United Methodist Church. For more information, call (805) 563-2360 or visit www.sbmasterchorale.org.