Tag archives: David Asbell
After an almost three-year hiatus, Santa Barbara’s renowned music director Heiichiro Ohyama flew in from Japan to return to the Lobero for an evening by an artfully created ensemble in the Chamber Music Project’s season premiere. Ohyama, who led the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra for 35 years until it played its final concert in 2017 […]
The Lobero Associates, led by President Mindy Denson, held their annual Christmas Tea during holiday time, but instead of the usual Biltmore it was at an unusual place – the stage of the Lobero Theatre. The theatre looked stunning with giant snowflakes projected over the auditorium walls. The grand piano, which was a gift from […]
The Lobero Theatre is by far the oldest performing arts venue in Santa Barbara. In fact, it’s actually the longest operating theater in all of California, dating back just a couple of decades after California became the 31st state admitted to the union. The Lobero also ranks fourth in seniority among all performing arts buildings […]
“Welcome home!” exclaimed Lobero Associates President Mindy Denson as the group gathered for the first time since the pandemic. We were sitting under the new sail ceiling in the courtyard — a gift from the Associates to the Lobero Theatre. The sun and shade danced above us while a nice breeze flowed throughout. It’s a […]
David Asbell has had it up to here with the pandemic. The longtime general manager of the Lobero Theatre piloted the venue through a pandemic pivot along with everybody else to stay relevant during the last 14 months. For the Lobero, this meant partnering up with an indie producer to host live streaming shows from […]
With Valentine’s Day coming up, what did Jose Lobero (born Giuseppe in Genoa, Italy) love? He loved opera and in 1873 he built a theater to house that love. It began as an old wooden schoolhouse and became the largest adobe structure in California for its time, housing the only opera house south of San […]
What is a ghostlight? As described in the program: “Ghostlight is named for a theatrical tradition dating back to Shakespeare’s old globe, the ghostlight is a bare bulb atop a rudimentary pole which stands at center stage, lit by the last person to leave the theater each night and extinguished by the first to arrive […]
Deck the Halls! It was time for the Lobero Theatre Associates’s annual Holiday Tea at The Four Seasons Biltmore. I saw more sparkling wine than tea, but never mind. It’s the season to sparkle. And no one makes better tea sandwiches than the Biltmore, especially the lobster ones. Fredrik Rosvall was at the piano, as […]
