Opera Santa Barbara Adds Free Performance Of THE CRUCIBLE For Area Students

Opera Santa Barbara (OperaSB) will present a free performance of its final 25th Anniversary season offering of The Crucible, 10 am Monday, April 29 at the Lobero Theatre. Underwritten in part by Montecito Bank and Trust and the Musician's Union Fund, 570 students from around the Santa Barbara and Ventura area will experience Robert Ward's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera.

This special matinee performance seeks to enrich the Language Arts curriculum for participating schools: The Anacapa School, La Cuesta High School, Carpinteria High School, Adolfo Camarillo High School, Rancho Campana High School, Channel Islands High School, Oxnard High School, and Santa Paula High School.

"We believe that it is critical to introduce area youth to the arts and to develop new audiences who may have had very limited contact with the rich medium of opera," said Education and Outreach Manager, Lex Benes.

Opera Santa Barbara's outreach programming includes Opera Lab, a popular program for elementary to middle school aged students to create their own operas, learn story-building techniques, and experience opera first hand. Later this summer, the company will be extending components of its successful Youth Opera Program into a stand-alone, in-depth exploration of opera production for students ages 6-18. The two-week intensive opera camp is designed to offer young singers of all skill levels unparalleled exposure to the workings of a professional opera company and concludes with all the participants appearing in a production of Odyssey, an opera for young singers based on Homer's tale about Odysseus' return to Athens after the Trojan War.

About The Crucible:

"Opera is a living, breathing art form, especially in the United States. American composers currently far surpass the Europeans in creating new works and bringing opera into the contemporary experience. Robert Ward's The Crucible is a founding works of American opera, as much Miller's play is emblematic of American theatre. It is a story born from the American experience, now as urgent as ever, " said Artistic and General Director Kostis Protopapas. The Crucible's ominous story of the Salem Witch Trials, based on Arthur Miller's allegorical play of the McCarthy era continues to awe audiences in the age of modern-day witch hunts, shifting truths, and crowd-sourced information.

About Opera Santa Barbara:

Founded in 1994 by Marilyn Gilbert and Nathan Rundlett, Opera Santa Barbara is committed to presenting opera productions and educational programs of the highest quality. Now in it's 25th Anniversary Season, the company has staged more than 70 operas and devoted thousands of hours to community outreach. The organization remains dedicated to the core passions that animated its founding: celebrating and championing the breadth and beauty of opera, and contributing to the cultural enrichment of the Santa Barbara community. Additional information is available at www.operasb.org. Opera Santa Barbara is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization.

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