Invigorating Music from Italy

Opera Santa Barbara launches its 2024-25 season with a classic in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci at the Lobero Theatre on November 8 and 10. The tale of lust, jealousy, and murder inside a traveling troop of comedians features the famous aria “Vesti la giubba”, which closes the first act. OSB’s new production of the dramatic thriller, set in Italy and inspired by Italian neorealist cinema, is staged by Daniel Chapman and directed by Octavio Cardenas with OSB artistic director Kostis Protopapas conducting. Robert Stahley and Alaysha Fox headline the cast of mostly OSB veterans. Eschewing grand opera at the Granada this season, OSB will also stageMozart’s The Marriage of Figaro on February 21 and 23, and Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment starring Montecito-raised soprano Jana McIntyre, on May 2 and 4 at the Lobero. Visit www.lobero.org or www.operasb.org

Italy is also at the center of CAMA’s next International Series concert at the Granada, as superstar mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital leads the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra on November 12 in a program dubbed “Venetian Splendor!” The San Francisco-based ensemble, who perform on period instruments, will play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the concertos, plus offer an array of historic gondolier songs dedicated to Venice’s hallmark form of transport, with two-time Grammy-winning soprano Estelí Gomez as soloist. Visit www.camasb.org or www.granadasb.org. Salute!