Ballet Along the Lake
By Richard Mineards   |   March 7, 2023

The classical 1877 Tchaikovsky ballet Swan Lake took on a whole new complexion when France’s 27-year-old Ballet Preljocaj, based in the charming university city of Aix-en-Provence, performed at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. With extremely creative video and lighting design by Boris Labbé and Eric Soyer, the 110-minute work […]

Also in the Neighborhood
By Richard Mineards   |   March 7, 2023

Former Montecito resident Michael Douglas has moved into truly majestic accommodations in London. The Oscar winner, 78, and his Welsh actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, have rented an apartment in historic St. James’s Palace, just a tiara’s toss from Clarence House, the home of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla. The monarch’s sister, Princess […]

 

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An Evening of Transformation
By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2023

Ted Nash, a regular figure of Jazz at Lincoln Center led by Wynton Marsalis, made his debut with the Santa Barbara Symphony, under conductor Nir Kabaretti, premiering a new orchestral expansion of his work Transformation at the Granada. Nash also performed with a trio led by Los Angeles-based pianist Josh Nelson. A short film also […]

An American Dream in Santa Barbara
By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2023

Man’s inhumanity to man was vividly on display with Opera Santa Barbara’s (OSB) latest one-act production An American Dream by Jack Perla and Jessica Murphy Moo at the Lobero. The moving 70-minute work, that premiered at the Seattle Opera in 2015, is set in Puget Sound in the 1940s, intertwining the fates and tragedies of […]

Filharmonie Brno Philharmonic at the Granada
By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2023

Aging Cossack Taras Bulba reigned supreme when Filharmonie Brno Philharmonic, the Czech orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, performed at the Granada, part of CAMA’s international series. The Leoš Janáček work, a three-part rhapsody for orchestra based on the 17th-century historical novella, concluded the first half on a high note after Martinu’s “Sinfonietta ‘La Jolla’” […]

Mardi Gras at the Carriage
By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2023

Baubles, bangles, and beads reigned supreme at the colorful, energized second annual Mardi Gras bash presented by La Boheme dance group founder Teresa Kuskey and social gadabout Rick Oshay at the Carriage and Western Art Museum. The fun fête was so popular that more than two dozen would-be guests had to be turned away because […]

Stepping into Campbell Hall
By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2023

Step Afrika!’s Campbell Hall performance Tribute paid homage to the African American step show technique combining the distinct styles from different African American fraternities and sororities, blending them together in an energized, exuberant and frenzied 90-minute show, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. It included all the exciting elements of “stepping,” with […]

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  • Montecito Style at the MClub
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 28, 2023

    To the historic Santa Barbara Club for a talk by local writer Lorie Dewhirst Porter, author of the fascinating coffee table tome Montecito Style: Paradise on California’s Gold Coast with 250 colorful photos by Firooz Zahedi, whose work has been seen in Vanity Fair, Interview, Town & Country, Time, and Architectural Digest. Zahedi, a 74-year-old […]

    Aligning Hearts and Minds
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

    Hearts Aligned, the two-year-old Santa Barbara charity which supports critically ill children, threw its first Hearts to Hearts Valentine’s lunch with 156 guests at the Cabrillo Pavilion, raising around $100,000 for low-income youngsters. The ubiquitous Janet Garufis, chairman and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust, emceed the fun oceanside fête, as well as acting as […]

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    Scenes From a Museum
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

    It’s two exhibitions for the price of one at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art! Scenes from a Marriage: Ed & Nancy Kienholz centers on a recently acquired 1982 masterpiece Bout Round Eleven by Nancy Reddin Kienholz and Edward Kienholz and their collaborative way of working and living. Thanks to generous loans to supplement works […]

    A Flipping Good Time
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

    Cirque FLIP Fabrique staged Muse at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & lectures series. Playing with gender roles, the production offered up a refreshing view of contemporary circus with the eclectic performers, whether wearing high heels or shoulder pads, football uniforms or ballet attire, using the cavernous stage to its fullest for […]

    Diamonds Full of Penny
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

    Nearly half a century ago the society glossy Town & Country featured Montecito interior decorator Penny Bianchi in a cover article with the late comedy legend Bob Hope on the backlot of Universal Studies in L.A. in an iconic pose à la America Gothic, the 1930 painting by Grant Wood now in the collection of […]

    Women of Achievement Awards to Hauser and Stokes
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

    Climate champions Hillary Hauser and Leah Stokes are being honored at the 15th annual AWC-SB Women of Achievement Awards presented by Women Connect4Good. KEYT-TV anchor and 2019 Women of Achievement award recipient Beth Farnsworth will emcee the event at the Cabrillo Pavilion on April 27. “This is an honor that takes every one of my […]

    Dream Foundation
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

    Investec Real Estate Companies’ founding principal and president Kenny Slaught is stepping down as Dream Foundation’s board chair after a decade at the helm. He will continue to serve as vice chair under the organization’s newly appointed chair, Mario Muredda. Muredda is currently a member of the foundation’s board and was formerly co-chair of the […]

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