Written by Mary Dan Eades on December 14, 2013
Bestselling author, actress, and comedienne Fannie Flagg will delight the audience at the Lobero in Santa Barbara Choral Society’s Hallelujah Project 2013 this Saturday (December 14) at 8 pm and again on Sunday (December 15) at 3 pm with a reading of C. Clement Moore’s iconic poem A Visit from St. Nicholas…better known as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Set to an enchanting orchestration, it is sure to be a highlight of the holiday for kids old and young.
In this family-friendly, fun-filled concert the Choral Society will be joined by the Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus in a program that will showcase beloved holiday music of a variety of types, ranging from the soundtrack of the popular movie Home Alone, by composer John Williams, to the more traditional Feast of Carols by American composer Randol Alan Bass and British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ haunting Fantasia on Christmas Carols. The latter piece will welcome back the velvet voice of Music Academy alumnus, De Andre Simmons, as baritone soloist.
In a nod to our city’s Spanish roots, the repertoire will also include a set of Spanish carols, including a trio of Christmas Carols from the 16th Century, John Rutter’s Esta Noche, and Edmund Walters Buenos Reyes. SBCS is thrilled to announce that Santa Barbara favorite son and internationally-acclaimed Metropolitan Opera tenor, Eduardo Villa, is coming home for the holidays to sing the solos for these pieces.
Ticketing through the Lobero box office online or by calling 805-963-0761.
Ticket prices are $25 for section C seats, $35 for section B seats, and $45 for section A seats.
(Additional $1.50 Lobero facility fee applied to all ticket prices and a convenience fee added to online ticketing orders by the Lobero Theatre.)
Saturday December 14 at 8 pm
Sunday December 15 at 3 pm
The Lobero Theatre
33 E Canon Perdido
Santa Barbara
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.