Storm at Large

Sultry lounge singer Storm Large lived up to her billing when she sang at the Granada with the Santa Barbara Symphony, under veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti in Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with additional vocals by the Hudson Shad Quartet. Other sensual works in the concert included Jacques Ibert’s “Divertissement,” William Grant Still’s “Seven Little Pieces” from Black Belt, and Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum.” 

I have heard Large sing many times with the Portland-based multilingual ensemble Pink Martini that performs at the Arlington annually as part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program.

Weill’s satirical production in seven scenes is performed with a 1933 libretto by Berthold Brecht, translated into English by author W.H. Auden – reflecting the poet’s travels in Europe, including Paris, Prague and Vienna.

The show was originally danced and choreographed by George Balanchine at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in June 1933, formerly owned by opera singer Ganna Walska, founder of the Montecito botanical paradise Lotusland.

Sinning was never so much fun…