Celebrating California Institute of the Arts’ 50th Anniversary

Lovers of the performing arts might head for the new subterranean jazz club Libretto

Center stage is a historic Steinway grand, owner Corey Jordan's personal piano, one of several he has tucked away about town; Jordan creates riffs for film soundtracks by day.

Upcoming acts at Libretto include the Melissa Morgan Quartet on Feb. 18 and the John Proulx Trio Feb. 25.

Performing-arts lovers might stay at new Piccolo, just off the treelined square. It shares ownership with adjacent Paso Robles Inn, which opened in 1891; details such as exposed brick walls are a nod to the inn’s rich history. Custom pieces by local artisans— a blacksmith’s chandeliers, a 76-foot mural—fill the boutique property.

Piccolo hits a high note with Tetto, the city’s only rooftop bar.

Piccolo is not the city’s first musically themed hotel. The Allegretto Vineyard Resort, filled with art and artifacts, was the area’s most significant new destination since the Paso Robles Inn when it opened in 2015; Cello Ristorante & Bar is its fine dining room.

It’s minutes from Sensorio

Saturday, March 4, 2023 7:30 pm

Vibrant opera star Angela Gheorghiu returns with an unmatched repertoire, including Handel, Strauss, Tosti, Massenet, and more.

Celebrity Opera Recitals at BroadStage are supported by a generous gift from the Lloyd E. Rigler — Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation. broadstage.org

GLYNDEBOURNE, GARSINGTON & LONDON FESTIVALS

June 18 – 30, 2023

GLYNDEBOURNE FESTIVAL: L’ELISIR D’AMORE; & DON GIOVANNI (New Production).

LONDON (Royal Opera– Covent Garden): WERTHER (Kaufmann); IL TROVATORE.

GARSINGTON FESTIVAL: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS; & Mozart’s MITRIDATE, RE DI PONTO. HOLLAND PARK FESTIVAL: RIGOLETTO. PLUS - A West End Musical (TBA). – 5-Star Hotels –Grand Hotel – Eastbourne Sussex; The May Fair – London

MILAN & VERONA

June 29 – July 10, 2023

MILAN (La Scala): MACBETH (Netrebko); & Prokofiev’s ROMEO & JULIET BALLET. VERONA (Arena): CARMEN; RIGOLETTO; LA TRAVIATA; & AIDA (New Production).

– 5-Star Hotels –Grand Hotel– Milan; Due Torri– Verona

–Orchestra Tickets to Performances––Selected Gourmet Meals & Wine––Customized Sightseeing and Excursions–

Feature

Symphony Series At Ambassador Auditorium

Scheherazade

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

BEETHOVEN & RACHMANINOFF

MARCH 18, 2023

An American In Paris

APRIL 29, 2023

/CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 strong actors for that very reason, affirms Darryl Archibald, the show’s musical director.

“There’s so much exposition, information where the audience gets to find out about each character and how they feel, through their songs,” he says of the story of mismatched lovers; the book is by Hugh Wheeler. “There are not a lot of songs that sit there, that simply are just fun songs.”

This 50th anniversary production will use Jonathan Tunick’s original orchestrations, but with an expanded string section. “There’s this wonderful grandness to the music,” says Archibald, who was musical director for the Playhouse’s 2019 production of Ragtime and is musical director for Broadway’s Some Like It Hot. “We want to hear the music to its fullest—it’s important that we go all out to help support what we’re going to see onstage.”

And what we’re going to hear, of course; with the show not yet cast at press time, Archibald hopes to have operatic voices for the Greek chorus-like group of singers known as the Quintet.

Feldman believes that the celebration may well be cathartic for audience members still mourning Sondheim’s loss, no matter which event.

“There are many ways people can grieve,” Feldman says. “I think one of the most beautiful is to have an audience full of folks who felt so connected to this work—giving them an opportunity to come together and experience it as a community in an act of honoring.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity that we have to do it.”

reprogrammed !

Performances Magazine unveils a digital program platform for shows and concerts

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CONTRIBUTORS

NO RUSTLING PAGES, no killing trees . . . Of all the innovations to have come out of the pandemic, the new Performances program platform, accessed on any digital device, may be least likely to disappear in the foreseeable future. Not only had its time come—it had been long overdue.

Performances provides the programs for 20 SoCal performingarts organizations, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Ahmanson to San Diego Opera, where the app made its debut.

The touchless platform provides cast and player bios, donor and season updates and arts-centric features. Audiences receive a link and code word that instantly activate the app; QR codes are posted, too.

Screens go dark when curtains rise and return with the house lights. Updates—repertory changes, understudy substitutions, significant donations—can be made right up to showtime, no inserts necessary.

Other features include video and audio streams, translations and expanded biographies.

For those who consider printed programs keepsakes, a limited number, as well as commemorative issues for special events, continue to be produced. Collectibles!

Meanwhile, there is less deforestation, consumption of petroleum inks and programs headed for landfills. For the ecologically minded, the platform gets a standing ovation.

Theaters and concert halls reopened after a long intermission. Stages are live, the excitement is back. Activate your link and enjoy the shows. —CALEB WACHS

Wed Feb 15 | 8pm

Filharmonie Brno: Janáček, Martinů and Dvořák

Dennis Russell Davies, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

Sat Feb 18 | 8pm

Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

Thu Feb 23 | 8pm

Treelogy: A Musical Portrait of California’s Redwood, Sequoia and Joshua Trees

Sat Mar 4 | 3pm

Yamato – The Drummers of Japan

Hinotori: The Wings of Phoenix

Renowned composers Billy Childs, Steven Mackey, and Gabriella Smith — all with deep California roots of their own — have each composed original music for this three-part concert. Commissioned, produced, and presented by The Soraya, Treelogy is a celebration and a call to action to save California’s beloved and iconic trees.

Yamato