Performances Magazine | BroadStage, January 2023

Jan 12

Nat Geo Live: From Shallows to Seafloor

Jan 20

Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk

contents

P1 Program

Cast, performances, who’s who, director’s notes and donors

6 In the Wings

Diverse dance at the Wallis in Beverly Hills; diverse operas by Mozart and Debussy at L.A. Opera downtown; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra concertos at diverse locations.

12 Insider Insights

Students and audiences alike benefit when artists such as L.A. Opera music director James Conlon or dancer-choreographer Ashwini Ramaswamy present master classes.

20 Design

Moderated modernism: Designer Kelly Schandel of Santa Monica's Thinkpure brings warmth to her minimalist aesthetic with nuanced natural materials.

24 Dining

Tapas with a view: Humanitarian and Michelinlauded chef José Andrés channels the flavors of the Iberian Peninsula at his San Laurel in the Conrad Los Angeles hotel.

32 Parting Thought

Performances’ new program platform for shows and concerts can be accessed from any digital device.

PICASSO INGRES FACE TO FACE

Norton Simon Museum

Oct O ber 21, 2022–January 30, 2023

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780–1867), Madame Moitessier (detail), 1856, oil on canvas, ©The National Gallery, London; Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Woman with a Book, 1932, oil on canvas, The Norton Simon Foundation, ©2022 Estate of Pablo Picasso/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.

HIP-HOP AND HEROES

A SPOKEN-WORD musical performed through the language of step dance and an exploration of “the tangled paths of history/herstory/ourstory” are among upcoming dance highlights at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Set in a drug-rehabilitation program, Dahlak Brathwaite’s Try/Step/Trip, Feb. 2-5 in the Lovelace Theater, layers characters, verse, dialogue and music and blurs lines between hip-hop and dramatic performance. Feb. 17-18 in the Bram Goldsmith Theater, ballet, aerial and modern-dance company Luminario Ballet of Los Angeles presents Heroes, Sheroes, and Eros, featuring a collective of choreographers and special guests, and The Last Supper, a rollicking tale about a visit by Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene to the Coachella Music Festival. Feb. 12 brings a free Flamenco dance class for the whole family by Debbie Allen & Friends on the venue’s Promenade Terrace. 310.746.4000, thewallis.org

Dahlak Brathwaite’s Try/Step/Trip

.

Left: Luminario Ballet of Los Angeles.

OPERA

MARRIAGE . . . OR NOT

L.A. OPERA’S SEASON continues with Mozart’s comic opera The Marriage of Figaro and Debussy’s exquisite Pelléas et Mélisande Figaro, Feb. 4-26, sparkles with disguises, wit, trickery and humanity in a new production directed by filmmaker James Gray; costumes are by fashion designer Christian Lacroix. Craig Colclough and Janai Brugger star as Figaro and Susanna, Lucas Meachem and Ana María Martínez as the count and countess, Rihab Chaieb as Cherubino. Lost in the forest, a prince encounters an ethereal beauty with a mysterious past in Pelléas et Mélisande, March 25-April 16; brought home to his family, she grows increasingly close to his handsome younger brother. Soprano Sydney Mancasola and baritone Will Liverman play the doomed lovers, Kyle Ketelsen the jealous prince. Music director James Conlon leads both works at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. 213.972.8001, laopera.org

VINCENT PONTET / THEATRE DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES, ABOVE, AND RICHARD CAMPBELL / SCOTTISH OPERA

Scenes from James Gray’s staging of The Marriage of Figaro and (right) David McVicar’s of Pelléas et Mélisande

Violist Yura Lee and, below, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason

Programs With Principals

PROGRAMS BY THE Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra spotlight cellist Sheku KannehMason, who played at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a television audience of nearly 2 billion, and two of the ensemble’s principals, violist Yura Lee and trumpeter David Washburn. Kanneh-Mason is soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D Jan. 14 at UCLA Royce Hall and Jan. 15 at Alex Theatre in Glendale; led by

music director Jaime Martín, the programs also include works by Fanny Mendelssohn and Antonin Dvorak. Jan. 28 at the Wallis in Beverly Hills, and Jan. 29 at the Huntington in San Marino, Martin presents baroque concertos: Lee is featured soloist in one of the earliest known viola concertos, by Georg Philipp Telemann, and Washburn in a work by little-known Czech composer Johann Baptist Georg Neruda. 213.622.7001, laco.org

GIROGIA BERTAZZI, ABOVE, AND JAKE TURNEY

MUSIC

Insider Insights

Students and audiences alike benefit when veteran artists present master classes. / BY LIBBY SLATE /

Ashwini Ramaswamy, center, and troupe members will lead master classes at Santa Monica College. Opposite: L.A. Opera music director James Conlon in Colburn School master class.

WHAT DOES UNDERSTANDING

foreign languages have to do with accomplished piano playing?

Quite a lot, according to L.A. Opera music director James Conlon. “Any of the Western languages that have informed classical music— Italian, German, French, Russian— are languages that if you learn them, even to a limited degree, you will expand disproportionately in your ability to identify and blend with the music that you’re playing,” he told students and members of the public attending a master class recently at the Colburn School downtown.

“If you learn French, you will see Debussy very differently. It’s very hard to be a devoted and passionate conductor of Italian opera without having learned Italian, because Italian is the singing language. It is not an accident that opera was born in Italy, because what governs good

Italian also happens to be the same thing that governs good vocalism.”

Conlon’s series of master classes at the 2022 Colburn Piano Seminar addressed other aspects of performance as well as the more expected piano technique. Topics included practice, study, musical instinct and interactions as a concerto soloist with a conductor—which can occur during a rehearsal break while the conductor is eating a sandwich.

Such guidance is the hallmark of master classes, which offer the benefits of individualized coaching and insights gleaned from artists over the course of their careers. Some, such as those at Colburn, are open to the public and listed on venue websites; excerpts from Conlon’s classes are posted online.

Why take time out of an oftenpacked schedule to give master classes?

“Most of teaching is about giving the space and context for people to come to an understanding on their own,” says bass-baritone Ryan McKinny. “Being able to be a part of that in real time, then following artists who grow year after year, is incredibly rewarding.”

“It’s incumbent on all of us performing artists to share as much as possible of what we have learned and gained through our life’s experiences as musicians, sharing with as wide an audience as possible,” Conlon says via email from Florence, Italy. “Forms of knowledge can be lost if they’re not passed on from one generation to the next.

“It’s important for me to give back, partially in gratitude for what I’ve received from the many people

and forces that have influenced me during my own education and professional experience.”

Also wanting to pay it forward is bass-baritone Ryan McKinny, who plays Scarpia in L.A. Opera’s Tosca at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown through Dec. 10. He recently presented a master class for L.A. Opera Young Artists and members of the Opera League of Los Angeles. He usually spends 20 to 30 minutes with each singer, gravitating toward whatever each needed or wanted to work on.

“Often, that’s something technical—breath flow and support, jaw and tongue issues, posture—but I also love to work on acting,” McKinny says. “I ask what choices singers have made, and almost always they are very general. I try to get them to be very specific and strong with their choices and to let go of the idea of making the ‘correct’

choice. And I like to work on the mental aspects of singing: not just how you sing, but what you think about when singing and what to focus on.... That’s often overlooked.”

Dancer-choreographer Ashwini Ramaswamy, whose program Let the Crows Come is at BroadStage in Santa Monica April 7-8, and two other dancers in her troupe will be conducting master classes and extended workshops for students at Santa Monica College.

Each will focus on a particular form of dance, Ramaswamy’s being the Indian Bharatanatyam. Once again, there’s more to the experience than learning technique.

“This is a 2000-year-old art form that I practice,” she notes. “I explain its origins, aligned to temples of South India, and its sculptures of Hindu deities. It’s a form that incorporates theatre, sculpture, poetry, music, /CONTINUED

Renowned pianist Lang Lang leading a master class at the Colburn School

BroadStage is located on the campus of Santa Monica College and is a part of the SMC Performing Arts Center. As we actively work to create a more equitable path as a cultural institution, we respectfully recognize that the land on which BroadStage currently stands is the ancestral unceded territory of the Tongva, Gabrielino, Kizh peoples. We honor the Indigenous caretakers of these lands and their elders, past, present, and future.

National Geographic Live: From Shallows to Seafloor

Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk

Dear Friends of BroadStage

BroadStage Board of Directors

Jennifer Diener

Chair

Anne Taubman

Vice-Chair & Treasurer

Barbara Herman Secretary

Dr. Susan Aminoff

Laurie Benenson

Donald Girard

Dr. Nancy Greenstein

Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, SMC Superintendent/President

Richard Kendall

Laura Maslon

Gregory Rae

Gerun Riley

Philip Rotner

Mark Smith

Susan Stockel

Rob Bailis

Artistic and Executive Director

Santa Monica College Board of Trustees

Barry Snell, Chair

Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez, Vice Chair

Dr. Susan Aminoff; Dr. Nancy Greenstein; Dr. Tom Peters; Rob Rader; Dr. Sion Roy; Catalina Fuentes Aguirre Student Trustee

Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President

Welcome back to BroadStage as we welcome in 2023! Throughout January, February, and March, we will be enjoying some of what BroadStage does best: fantastic concert music across a variety of genres from some of the most extraordinary performers on the planet. This is a highly unique lineup of artists; each rooted in a different practice or tradition and each bringing their own celebration of our shared human experience to the stage.

The classical highlights are Takács Quartet, performing with pianist and MacArthur "Genius" Jeremy Denk, and Academy of St Martin in the Fields performing with unmatched mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital. And of course our thriving new series, Sunday Morning Music/Santa Monica, features a wake-up call of coffee, pastry, and vibrant conversation among an hour-long set of exceptional and engaging classical music curated by LA's finest chamber musicians.

We venture into Americana with two artists whose vision emerges in song and folk traditions. BroadStage favorite Lucia Micarelli (singer, violinist, actor, and songwriter) will return to the main stage. Lizzie No, an emerging talent who is as equally at home at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival as she is at the Newport Jazz Festival (akin to the Jazz-infused, folk movement singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s) will play an intimate show as part of our blackbox series. If you love singers, ballads, stories in song — and some insanely hot fiddle or harp — do not miss these artists, trailblazers both.

On the Jazz side, we welcome two very different acclaimed bandleaders. Composer and arranger Maria Schneider (no stranger to LA audiences) offers her GRAMMY-winning, 2020 Jazz Album of the Year, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, epic work Data Lords. In its two halves, the profound album explores the digital world and the natural world in generous, equally outrageous and emotional soundscapes. The next weekend we see Bria Skonberg, whose ebullient personality, high-energy vocals and trumpet, and love of hot Jazz is simply overflowing.

All of this is to say we are blessed with an intimate set of spaces here at BroadStage; spaces that allow us to enjoy concert music at its finest, in an acoustically pristine environment. The artistic intimacy with our performers is among the most treasured hallmarks of a BroadStage experience. Where music is concerned, it really doesn't get much better than this.

We are thrilled to share these concerts with you, and hope we will see you soon and often. As we look further into the spring, get ready for us to light up the stage again with dramatic dance, theater, and more. Get your tickets early for Dimanche, Let the Crows Come, and Memoryhouse; they will sell fast!

Rob Bailis

Artistic and Executive Director

PARTY! WHAT A

Thank you to our sponsors and all those who made the The Look of Love: A Celebration on October 20, 2022 such a huge success! Thank you for joining us for a spectacular Opening Night World Premiere.

BroadStage would also like to thank the following patrons who generously supported BroadStage’s Education & Community Outreach Programming by sending a gift in lieu of their attendance:

Linda & Martin Blank

Bruce Bower

David Coscia & Mark Armstrong

Roy & Carol Doumani

Karen Duvall & Gerald Berke

Irwin S. Field

Sheila & Michael Goldberg

Susan & Alan Greenberg

Susan & Matthew Grossman

Renee Holland

Dr. Kathryn Jeffery

Alice Lainer

Carol Munchin

Francine Ringold Nancy Rosenbloom

BroadStage would like to thank the following patrons who generously supported BroadStage’s Education & Community Outreach Programming by giving in our first-ever paddle raise:

Aileen Adams

Kathrine & Frank E. Baxter Laurie & Bill Benenson Catherine Benkaim Kai Bowden Greg Breen Edythe Broad Cecilia Brown Tracey Brown

Sonia & James Cummings Katrin & Kevin Czinger Eunice David Jennifer Diener Adrienne Forst Nina & Ross Furukawa Blanca Malpartida-Girard & Don Girard Anne Grausam Barbara Herman Pat Hubbard

Richard Kendall & Lisa See Kathy Kraas & Leon Shapiro Rini & Arthur Kraus Jane Jelenko

Nancy Laturno

Liz Levitt Hirsch Nigel Lythgoe

Cookie Markowitz

Laura Maslon

Helen Meyer

Alevtina Michelson

Mark Morris

James Mulally Mumsey Nemiroff

Greg Niles

Dr. Bruce & Aulana Peters

Ann Petersen & Leslie Pam

Leo & Nina Pircher

Deb Podus

Lyle & Lisi Poncher

Debbie & Rick Powell

Robert Wallace

Gerun Riley & Jason Wilborn

Philip & Janet Rotner

Thomas L. Safran

Amelia & Ralph Saltsman

Eric Small

David Totheroh

Jan & Mark Victor

Nana Visitor & Matthew Rimmer

Polly & Herb Weinberg

Sanford Weiner

More information about BroadStage’s commitment to local students and our community can be found at broadstage.org/all-activations

Shallows to Seafloor

Photo Credit: Solvin Zankl

About the Speaker

Diva Amon is a deep-sea biologist who works at the nexus of science, policy, and communications. She studies the weird and wonderful animals living in a range of previously unknown deep-sea habitats and human impacts on them. She has participated in research expeditions around the world and has an extensive science communication and outreach record. Amon is a 2020 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, a Pew-Bertarelli Ocean Ambassador, a a Co-Lead of the DOSI Minerals Working Group, a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum in London, and a Director and Founder of SpeSeas.

National Geographic Live is the live events division of National Geographic. Its broad roster of talent, including renowned photographers, scientists, authors, lmmakers, and adventurers, share their behindthe-scenes stories from the front lines of exploration alongside stunning imagery and gripping footage to audiences throughout the United States and abroad. For more information on National Geographic Live and other National Geographic events, please visit nationalgeographic.com/events.

Up next: Nat Geo Live

Adaptation

Alizé Carrère, Environmental Anthropologist & Filmmaker

April 20, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Explore the remarkable ways people around the world are adapting to climate change with environmental anthropologist and filmmaker Alizé Carrère.

Takács

Quartet with Jeremy Denk

Friday January 20 7:30 p.m. Main Stage

PROGRAM

String Quartet No. 67 in F Major, K. Op. 77, No. 2, “Lobkowitz” Josef Haydn (1732 – 1809)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Menuet: Presto III. Andante

IV. Finale: Vivace assai

String Quartet in E-flat Major Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805 – 1847)

I. Adagio ma non troppo

II. Allegretto III. Romanze

IV. Allegro molto vivace Intermission

Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Opus 44 Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856)

I. Allegro brilliante

II. In modo d’una marcia. Un poco largamente

III. Scherzo: Molto vivace

IV. Allegro ma non troppo with Jeremy Denk, piano

The Takács Quartet appears by arrangement with Seldy Cramer Artists, and records for Hyperion and Decca/London Records. The Takács Quartet is Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado in Boulder and are Associate Artists at Wigmore Hall, London www.takacsquartet.com

This program will run approximately 105 minutes, with one intermission.

Presenting Patron Sponsor: The Keston Family

Classical Series Sponsor: Colburn Foundation

Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk

Edward Dusinberre

Violin Harumi Rhodes Violin Richard O’Neill

Viola András Fejér Cello Jeremy Denk Piano

Photo

Credit: Amanda Tipton

About the Artists

The world-renowned Takács Quartet, is now entering its forty-eighth season. Edward Dusinberre, Harumi Rhodes (violins), Richard O’Neill (viola) and András Fejér (cello) are excited about the 2022-2023 season that begins with a tour of Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, and includes the release of two new cds for Hyperion Records. A disc of Haydn’s opp. 42, 77 and 103 is followed by the first recording of an extraordinary new work written for the Takács by Stephen Hough, Les Six Rencontres, presented with quartets by Ravel and Dutilleux. As Associate Artists at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Takács will perform four concerts there. In addition to programs featuring Beethoven, Schubert and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, one concert consists of works by Britten, Bartók and Dvořák that highlight the same themes of displacement and return explored in Edward Dusinberre’s new book Distant Melodies: Music in Search of Home. The book is published by Faber and the University of Chicago Press in the Fall of 2022. The quartet will perform the same program at several venues in the USA, complemented by book talks. During this season the quartet will continue its fruitful partnership with pianist Jeremy Denk, performing on several North American series.

Throughout 2022 and 2023 the ensemble will play at prestigious European venues including the Edinburgh and Schwetzingen Festivals, Madrid’s Auditorio de Música, Bilbao’s Philharmonic Society, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the Bath Mozartfest. The group’s North American engagements include concerts in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Tucson, Portland and the Beethoven Center at San Jose State University.

The Takács Quartet is known for innovative programming. In 2021-22 the ensemble partnered with bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro to premiere new works by Clarice Assad and Bryce Dessner, commissioned by Music Accord. In 2014 the Takács performed a program inspired by Philip Roth’s novel Everyman with Meryl Streep at Princeton, and again with her at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in 2015. They first performed Everyman at Carnegie Hall in 2007 with Philip Seymour Hoffman. They have toured 14 cities with the poet Robert Pinsky, and played regularly with the Hungarian Folk group Muzsikas.

The Takács records for Hyperion Records, recently winning awards for their recordings of string quartets by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, and - with pianist Garrick Ohlsson - piano quintets by Amy Beach and Elgar. Other releases for Hyperion feature works by Haydn, Schubert, Janáček, Smetana, Debussy and Britten, as well as piano quintets by César Franck and Shostakovich (with Marc-André Hamelin), and viola quintets by Brahms and Dvorák (with Lawrence Power). For their CDs on the Decca/London label, the Quartet has won three Gramophone Awards, a Grammy Award, three Japanese Record Academy Awards, Disc of the Year at the inaugural BBC Music Magazine Awards, and Ensemble Album of the Year at the Classical Brits. Full details of all recordings can be found in the Recordings section of the Quartet's website.

In 2014 the Takács became the first string quartet to be awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal. In 2012, Gramophone announced that the Takács was the first string quartet to be inducted into its Hall of Fame. The ensemble also won the 2011 Award for Chamber Music and Song presented by the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.

Based in Boulder at the University of Colorado, the members of the Takács Quartet are Christoffersen Faculty Fellows, and the grateful beneficiaries of an instrument loan by the Drake Foundation. The members of the Takács are on the faculty at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where they run a summer string quartet seminar, and Visiting Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music, London.

The Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and András Fejér, while all four were students. The group received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics’ Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. The Quartet also won the Gold Medal at the 1978 Portsmouth and Bordeaux Competitions and First Prizes at the Budapest International String Quartet Competition in 1978 and the Bratislava Competition in 1981. The Quartet made its North American debut tour in 1982.

Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists, proclaimed by the New York Times ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs’. Denk is also a New York Times bestselling author, winner of both

About the Artists

the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In the 2022-23 season, Denk will continue his multi-season exploration of Book 1 of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, and will also perform with orchestras and in recitals across UK, Europe, and the United States, including a return to Carnegie Hall play-directing Bach concerti with Orchestra St. Luke’s, and multi-concert residency at the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland. An avid chamber musician, Denk will also embark on a US tour with the renowned Takács Quartet.

His New York Times Bestselling memoir Every Good Boy Does Fine was published to universal acclaim by Random House in 2022, with features on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s Fresh Air, New York Times Review of Books, and more, with The Guardian heralding it as “an elegant, frank and well-structured memoir that entirely resists cliche. A rare feat... it makes the reader care about Denk beyond his talent for playing the piano.”

Denk’s latest album of Mozart piano concertos was released in 2021 on Nonesuch Records. The album, deemed “urgent and essential” by BBC Radio 3, was featured as Album of the Week’ on Classic FM, and ‘Record of the Week’ on BBC Radio’s Record Review

Denk has performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall and in recent years has worked with such orchestras as Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. Further afield, he has performed multiple times at the BBC Proms and Klavierfestival Ruhr, and appeared in such halls as the Köln Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Boulez Saal in Berlin. He has also performed extensively across the UK, including recently with the London Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and playdirecting the Britten Sinfonia. Last season’s highlights include his performance of the Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 at the Barbican in London, and performances of John Adams’ “Must the Devil Have All The Great Tunes?” with the Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, and Seattle Symphony, as well as a return to the San Francisco Symphony to perform Messiaen under Esa Pekka Salonen.

Denk is also known for his original and insightful writing on music, which Alex Ross praises for its “arresting sensitivity and wit.” He wrote the libretto for a comic opera presented by Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, and the Aspen Festival, and his writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New Republic, The Guardian, and on the front page of the New York Times Book Review. His book Every Good Boy Does Fine was published in 2022 by Random House in the US and Pan Macmillan in the UK.

Denk’s recording of the Goldberg Variations for Nonesuch Records reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts. His recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 paired with Ligeti’s Études was named one of the best discs of the year by the New Yorker, NPR, and the Washington Post, and his account of the Beethoven sonata was selected by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library as the best available version recorded on modern piano. Denk has a long-standing attachment to the music of American visionary Charles Ives, and his recording of Ives’s two piano sonatas also featured in many “best of the year” lists. His recording c.1300-c.2000 was released in 2018 with music ranging from Guillaume de Machaut, Gilles Binchois and Carlo Gesualdo, to Stockhausen, Ligeti and Glass. His latest album of Mozart piano concertos, performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, was released in 2021 on Nonesuch Records.

Jeremy Denk is a graduate of Oberlin College, Indiana University, and the Juilliard School. He lives in New York City.

With the full range of her staggering talents, actress, violinist, and vocalist Lucia Micarelli maps a thrilling evening of music in many genres — all bound together by her signature emotional vulnerability and technical wizardry.

Photo by Solaiman Fazel

blackbox: Lizzie No Friday, February 17, 2023 8:00 pm | The Edye Tickets start at $40

This NYC singer-songwriter, harpist, and guitarist is one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary folk music.

Sunday Morning Music / Santa Monica: Dream with Me Sunday, February 12, 2023 11:00 am | The Edye

Tickets start at $60

A heartwarming pre-Valentine’s program featuring works by Rachmanino , Bernstein, Beethoven and more.

Photo by Anna Azarov

Photo by Ettore Causa

Jazz & Blues Sponsor: Richard and Lisa Kendall blackbox Sponsor: Ann Petersen and Leslie Pam

broadstage.org

Vibrant

makes her return to BroadStage amidst a whirlwind tour of opera engagements, enchanting the stage 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.

Photo by Cosmin Gogu

“The most glamorous and gifted opera singer of our time”

opera star Angela Gheorghiu

Activations

In Community

Check out the variety of participatory workshops and gatherings BroadStage is presenting throughout our community. All ages are welcome to come meet and engage with artists and each other. Program registration is required. Limited capacity. broadstage.org/in-community

REVEAL

BroadStage’s new artistic chapter as a commissioner and producer of new work includes REVEAL, a series of on demand and live digital events, sharing exclusive footage, conversations, discussions, and performances that highlight the artists’ transformational practices in action as they develop their commissioned works. REVEAL is curated in collaboration with the artists and available to our audiences for free. broadstage.org/reveal.php

Learning Guides

Dive into BroadStage’s Learning Guides to read about the artist’s inspiration for creating their shows and the topics they are investigating. Families, students, educators, and parents can all use these guides to incorporate dance, music, and theater into their classrooms or homes in inventive and experiential ways. Offered for select performances each season. broadstage.org/learning-guide

Student Matinee Program

The Student Matinee program makes music, dance, and theatre performances accessible to students and provides Learning Guides specifically created for each performance. Professional Development workshops for educators are focused on each matinee and provide a collaborative and supportive learning space for the development of arts integrated lesson plans. broadstage.org/student-matinees.php

Activations at BroadStage are supported by Leonard M. Lipman Charitable Fund, The Herb Alpert Foundation, Johnny Carson Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, and Santa Monica Cultural Affairs.

We believe everyone should have access to the performing arts and the opportunity to deepen their connection to all art forms, so we are excited to add free Activations that are directly tied to this season’s programming! These public events include community activities and educational programs that directly engage the artists and their creativity beyond the stage. Activations may be onsite, offsite, or digital offerings that welcome our artists and audiences to learn, creatively connect, and journey together.

Photo Credit: Scott Lynch

Member Benefits

B Involved as part of our Membership Community!

Benefit from your impact: your Membership not only supports the performing arts in our community, it also enables you to receive a range of exciting benefits:

Skip the line

Celebrate with us

Get to know the artists

Get first access to the best seats in the house.

From our annual holiday soiree, to our Season Announcement Party and other receptions, your social calendar will be full!

Keep an eye on your inbox for exclusive invitations to master classes, behind-thescenes events, and offstage conversations.

Become a Member today

For a full listing of Membership benefits, visit broadstage.org/membership.

Questions? Call 310.434.3590.

Thank you to our donors

Your support helps keep the performing arts thriving here on the Westside.

This list reflects annual fund support through November 31, 2022.

INNER CIRCLE

$1,000,000 & ABOVE

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation

Lloyd E. Rigler - Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation

$100,000 & ABOVE

Anonymous

The Ahmanson Foundation Bill & Laurie Benenson

Richard Kendall & Lisa See

$50,000 - $99,999

Leonard M. Lipman Charitable Fund

Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture

Laura Stevenson Maslon Ann Petersen & Leslie Pam Association of Performing Arts Professionals

The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

Santa Monica Cultural Affairs

$25,000 - $49,999 Colburn Foundation Jennifer Diener

The Greenberg Foundation

The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation

The Herb Alpert Foundation

The Keston Family Renee & Meyer Luskin

Anita & Larry Miller Rae Family Foundation Marc & Eva Stern

Susan R. Stockel Anne Taubman

PRESENTERS CIRCLE

$15,000 - $24,999

The Herbert & Elaine Kendall Charitable Foundation

James R. Mulally Philip & Janet Rotner Eric Stockel & Ruth Waddell

$10,000 - $14,999

Diana & Dan Attias Robert & Sara Cannon Dwight Stuart Youth Fund Farhang Foundation Johnny Carson Foundation National Endowment for the Arts

Amelia & Ralph Saltsman Victoria Sussman Kathryn & Alan Van Vliet

$5,000 - $9,999

Howard & Dr. Susan Aminoff Rob Bailis

Norris & Debi Bishton

Constance Chesnut & Dr. Sheldon Benjamin Lee & Ann Cooper Leslie & John Dorman Brian Driscoll & Jamey Anderson Maria Dylan Susan & David L. Hirsch III Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, SMC

Superintendent/ President

Coco & Frans Klinkenberg

Sandra Krause & William B. Fitzgerald

Elisa & William Marks New England Foundation for the Arts

Helane Pines Lyle & Lisi Poncher

Judith Spector

$2,500 - $4,999

Anonymous (2)

Stanley & Sara Bailis

Susan & Jeffrey Davidson BJ Dockweiler & Frank Stiefel

Whitney Green

Frank Gruber & Janet Levin

Patricia & Ronald Lebel Karen & Peter Locke

Los Angeles Philanthropic Committee

Susan Morse

Terese A. Mosher Beluris

Shaheen & Anil Nanji Rhonda & Stanley RubinHafter Family Foundation

Santa Monica-Malibu

Unified School District Michael & Laurie Schur Loraine Sinskey Anne-Marie Stephens Deborah & Henry Weissmann

Regional Touring is supported by the California Arts Council, WESTAF (the Western States Arts Federation), National Endowment for the Arts

$1,500 - $2,499

Anonymous (3)

Helen Albright

Robert C. Anderson

Laurie Bernhard

Candace J. Chin

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Ann Ehringer

Deborah Feinerman

Adrienne Forst Susan & Wayne Gradman Susan & Alan Greenberg Norma Harris & Frank Packard

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Dustin & Lisa Hoffman

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The Katharine King Fund of the Liberty Hill Foundation

Kathy Kraas & Leon Shapiro

Mike Kretzmer & Dr. Susan Rempel

Judy Neveau

Robert & Kimberly Nicholas Elizabeth Puro

Rabbi Lynn Brody Slome & Ansel Slome

Judith Taylor

MEMBERS CIRCLE

$500 - $1,499

Anonymous (3) Grant Abramson & Miriam Muscarolas

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Jones & Associates

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Kirsch Audiology

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Thomas Peterson Gordon Polon & Lisa Altman

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Nancy Rosenbloom Lael R. Rubin Thomas L. Safran

Linda Sandrich Nancy & Steven Schneider Patrisha Thomson Brigitta B. Troy Doug Upshaw

Mr. & Mrs. Van Gessel Debra & John Warfel

The Weingart Foundation Linn Wile Jan & Eddie Woods Laurie & Ahmed Yehia Rosanne Ziering

Thank you to our BroadStage sponsors

A special thank you to our Chair of the Members Circle, Adrienne Forst

A special thank you to our Co-Chairs of the Presenters Circle, Diana and Dan Attias

BroadStage gratefully acknowledges Santa Monica College’s continued support and involvement.

Theatre Sponsors: Laurie & Bill Benenson, Susan Stockel Jazz & Blues Sponsor: Richard & Lisa Kendall blackbox sponsor: Ann Petersen & Leslie Pam Classical Sponsor: Colburn Foundation Mark Morris Dance Group: The Look of Love is presented in honor of Isabelle Stevenson Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk Presenting Patron Sponsor: The Keston Family Basiani Presenting Patron Sponsor: James R. Mulally An Evening with Lucia Micarelli Performance Sponsor: Amelia & Ralph Saltsman Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Avi Avital Exclusive Patron Sponsor: Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation

Administration

Rob Bailis

Artistic and Executive Director

Matthew Rimmer Chief Operating Officer Development

Chelsea Brandwein Individual Giving Officer Nina Srdić Hadži-Nešić Membership & Special Events Officer

Adam Colcord Development & Marketing Associate

Programming

Eric Bloom

Director of Artistic Planning Ilaan Egeland Mazzini Director of Programs & Activations

Mónica M. Sahagún Education & Activations Manager

Production

John Mulhern Director of Production Kate Hamilton Production Manager

Marketing

Brittany A. Gash Director of Marketing & Communications

Celine Kiner

Digital Marketing Manager

Caroline Murphy Marketing & Production Assistant

Audience Services

Rich Schade Senior Manager, Patron Experience Evan Nichols Patron Services Manager Administration Rachel Fain Senior Manager of Business Applications & Infrastructure Gail Johnson Administrative Assistant Accounting Jones & Associates Press Davidson & Choy Publicity

Patron Services Associates

Andrew Chorbi, Catarina Desrosiers, Emily Ellis, Susanna Erdos, Tim Hanson, Brittany Mackey, Zury Ruiz

Front of House

Nick Ruth Assistant House Manager Drew Petriello Lead Usher

Ushers

Zander Ayeroff, Felicia Blankenship, Lyn Chan, Jamie Concepcion, Jordi Kligman, Alma Margado, Kimberly Martinez, David McCarthy, Darryl McCrary, Justin Melgar, Jimi Poulin, Russell Ramierez, Alice Rona, Caragh Tiernan, Jenny Wasson, Mike White, Alissa Wilsey

Production Assistants

Amanda Eckert, Katy Garcia, Simon Gissler, David Ha, Adam Linde, Max Mirkin, Jessica Nicole, Alex Reeves, John Zachary Townsend, Kim Wong

Santa Monica College Staff

Donald Girard Senior Director of Government Relations and Institutional Communication Mitchell Heskel Dean, Education Enterprise Linda Sullivan Associate Dean Facilities Programming

Robert Rudolph Production Manager Siamanto Ismaily Theater Technical Director Joy Bice, Tom Carter, Carlos Lucio, Michael Gunderson, Adrian Thomas Lead Theater Technicians Jonathan Ng Senior Graphic Designer

DESIGN

In Hidden Hills, Kelly Schandel’s minimalist spaces showcase the natural environment and, opposite, the architecture of Wil Carson.

MODERATED MODERNISM

Designer Kelly Schandel brings warmth to her unabashedly minimalist aesthetic with nuanced natural materials.

by ROGER GRODY

INTERIOR DESIGNER KELLY Schandel, creative director and principal at Thinkpure, is an unapologetic modernist who believes that sharp edges and minimalist instincts need not result in austere environments.

A “warm modernism” is the signature of the Santa Monica-based firm, founded by Schandel in 2003; her portfolio demonstrates the designer’s ability to create compelling spaces without overcomplicating them.

Schandel’s design philosophy did not have its genesis in an art-school classroom, but in the fashion industry, when she was working in public relations for Calvin Klein in New York.

The apparel icon had just opened his groundbreaking Madison Avenue flagship, designed by British minimalist John Pawson. That, and Klein’s pared-down home collection, inspired Schandel to immerse herself in modern design and ultimately switch careers.

“What I gleaned from my love of minimalism was a purity of design, that every element is thoughtful, purposeful and has utility,” says Schandel, who doesn’t

share the penchant of some designers to add layer upon layer for show. She does, however, appreciate traditional architecture, and views her modernism as complementing it, rather than competing with it.

“We work on homes of all dif-

ferent architectural styles, and the modern interiors we bring to them create an interesting juxtaposition,” says Schandel. She believes that balance is particularly well executed by French architect/designer Joseph Dirand, who integrates bold, modern interiors into some of Paris’

most classical residential buildings.

“The best way to bring warmth to modernism is through natural stones and woods with interesting veining or graining,” says Schandel, adding that metals with unexpected carbon or bronze finishes can also be effective in tempering the aesthetics of a modern space.

Though Schandel prefers white walls, considering them ideal for showcasing art, she also appreciates the subtle infusion of color that plaster-finished walls provide.

Though indoor-outdoor living has always been important in Southern California, Schandel notes, “The pandemic made the focus on the home even greater ... creating that dynamic is even more critical now.”

Uniform flooring material indoors and out makes the transition between them even more seamless.

In Beverlywood: Tobi-Ishi table from B&B Italia, lighting by Giopato & Coombes; opposite from above, dramatic lighting from Milan’s Six and kitchen with Muuto pendants

DESIGN

In one Pacific Palisades home, Schandel maximizes the indoor-outdoor lifestyle with a floorplan by Warren Wagner of W3 Architects, incorporating the natural materials that bring warmth to her brand of modernism.

In a Beverlywood home designed by celebrated modern architect Hagy Belzberg, Schandel's signature purity of design accommodated an observant Jewish family

—even making a kosher kitchen look sexy.

In the Hidden Hills home of a prominent professional athlete and his family, interiors resulting from her sophisticated but approachable aes-thetics enhanced the architecture of modernist Wil Carson of 64North.

The occupants enjoy Schandel’s clean-lined kitchen, where a pair of massive quartzite-clad islands complement

blonde wire-brushed white oak cabinets; the materiality of blackened bronze pendants also generates interest.

Thinkpure’s clientele is very diverse, according to Schandel.

“The concepts of purity of design and the home as a sanctuary resonate with our clients,” she says. “Some designers focus on the home as a showplace. Our clients appreciate the sense of

Ochre chandelier and Robert Longo art in the Palisades

calm that our design aesthetic offers.”

Conceiving flashy environments is not what drives Schandel, yet her principled approach to minimalism often results in the very wow factor that preoccupies her more trend-conscious peers.

Thinkpure, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Building T4B, Santa Monica, 310.828.1112, thinkpure.com

Los Angeles Jewish Health is Energizing Senior Life!

The evolution of our name from the Los Angeles Jewish Home to Los Angeles Jewish Health reflects the full spectrum of our comprehensive, awardwinning programs and services. Los Angeles Jewish Health has grown from a group of caring neighbors providing shelter, to a leading non-profit senior care organization.

Our mission remains the same: to deliver excellence in senior care for all, rooted in Jewish values. With more than 100 years of trusted care, we meet you where you are in life to provide a customized experience that’s right for you.

• Independent Living

• Assisted Living

• Senior Behavioral Health

• Short-Term Rehabilitation

• Skilled Nursing

• PACE

• Hospice & Palliative Care

• Nursing School

• Geriatric Health

• Memory Care

TAPAS WITH A VIEW

“I’ve never seen downtown Los Angeles like this,” exclaims a gentleman dining on the patio at new San Laurel downtown. The Spanish-California restaurant by chef José Andrés is perched inside the Conrad Los Angeles hotel.

It’s nearing the golden hour, the time of day when sunlight creates dreamy lighting ideal for photos.

The San Laurel patio overlooks Walt Disney Concert Hall; the picture-perfect vantage allows diners to marvel at the Frank Gehrydesigned edifice, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. Disney Hall is adjacent to The Broad contemporary art museum and across from Dorothy Chandler

Humanitarian and Michelin-lauded chef José Andrés channels flavors of the Iberian Peninsula at San Laurel in the Conrad Los Angeles hotel. / BY JENN TANAKA /

San Laurel at the Conrad Los Angeles overlooks Disney Hall.

Right: Roasted celeraic carpaccio.

DINING

Pavilion.

The 28-story Conrad Los Angeles shares the towering Grand L.A.—also designed by Gehry—with luxury apartments and three new José Andrés dining concepts.

Andrés is lauded for more than his inventive work in the kitchen.

Time Magazine has included him on its “100 Most Influential People” list—twice. Accolades by the James Beard Foundation have included Humanitarian of the Year as well as Outstanding Chef. He owns ThinkFoodGroup and

founded World Central Kitchen, featured in the Ron Howard documentary We Feed People

Andrés has aligned himself with chefs and restaurant-industry professionals around the globe to feed those most

in need. He assists in Ukraine and organizes aid after natural disasters.

Every action for the chef is intentional. That includes closing his muchlauded dining concepts in Beverly Hills and opening new ones downtown—a

way for Andrés and his ThinkFoodGroup to revitalize the district, which has struggled to recover from the pandemic.

San Laurel evokes a relaxed and inviting atmosphere, a place to gather. The main dining room

media partner

Hand-cut jamón, Niño Melón cocktail, olives and almonds

opens up to the patio and its unparalleled performing-arts-district views; blankets are provided on request. Tables and chairs are a light wood with pops of sage green.

The San Laurel vision: the flavors of Spain through a California lens and a menu driven by tapas that are ideally shared with a group.

The Coca Idiazábal is a delicate olive oil cracker imported from Spain topped with snowy whispers of Idiazábal cheese. It’s best enjoyed with the jamón Ibérico de bellota cinco jotas, thinly sliced ham from acorn-fed, black-footed Spanish pigs.

A chilled lobster salpicón—thin slices of the crustacean interspersed with cucumber, tomato, green peppers and salsa rosa—is a delicate “salad” melding the coastal flavors of California and Spain.

Diners tend to take a solo approach to main

Flavors of the sea also emerge in dishes such as the sizzling head-on shrimp with garlic slivers and drizzles of olive oil, and the striped bass with mussel-saffron sauce and fire-roasted leeks.

Not to be missed are rack of lamb with cumincarrot puree and lemon confit, and seared duck breast with parsnip latkes.

Garnishes for the main dishes can be somewhat sparse; diners are encouraged to order side dishes, similar to the format at a

vermicelli “mac ‘n’ cheese’’

Lobster

a very grown-up version of the dish inspired by the Iberian peninsula. Traditional ingredients are replaced with with fideos pasta, Idiazábal cheese and bits of chanterelle mixed in an egg-yolk sauce and topped with crispy shallots.

San Laurel’s food, view and location make the restaurant nothing short of ideal for lovers of the performing arts. Two- or three-course pre-theater menus accommodate those limited on time.

But the best way to enjoy San Laurel is to luxuriate on the patio with one’s friends while watching the sunset, toasting life with glasses of chilled Spanish white wine and a generous array of tapas ... and perhaps an extra Coca Idiazábal.

Conrad Los Angeles, 100 S. Grand Ave., 10th floor, downtown, 213.349.8585, sanlaurel.com

and context for people to come to an understanding on their own. Being able to be a part of that in real time, then following artists who grow year after year, is incredibly rewarding.”

The education extends to non-students when classes are open to the public, fostering a deeper appreciation of the particular art and, hopefully, encouraging people to attend performances.

And the teachers of the master classes say they learn from and are inspired by their students.

“I’m asked questions which had never occurred to me, and when asked how I do something, I’m often required to reflect in a very stimulating way,” Conlon says. “Seeing the depth and quantity of exceptionally talented young people who populate our world today is inspiring, and encouraging for the future.”

/CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

Bass-baritone Ryan McKinny

reprogrammed !

Performances Magazine unveils a digital program platform for shows and concerts

DROP DOWN MENU Table of app contents.

REGISTER

Stay arts-engaged, access past programs.

THE ESSENTIALS

Acts, scenes, synopses, repertory and notes.

CONTRIBUTORS

Donors and sponsors who make it all possible—you!

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.

SEARCH Find whatever it is you want to know—easily.

SIGN IN Link to your performing-arts companies and venues.

THE PLAYERS

Bios and background for cast, crew and creators.

WHAT’S ON What’s coming at a glance and ticket information.

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

Samara Joy

Thu Feb 2 | 8pm

Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited

A Musical Portrait of Four Icons

Sat Feb 4 | 8pm

Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks

I’d Rather Lead a Band with Loudon Wainwright III

Wed Feb 8 | 8pm

Melissa Aldana Quartet JAZZ CLUB

Fri Feb 10 | 8pm

Joel Ross’ Parables JAZZ CLUB

The Parable of the Poet

Sat Feb 11 | 8pm

The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra Featuring Samara Joy

Joel Ross

Melissa Aldana

Christian McBride

Vince Giordano & Loudon Wainwright III