Love and death had a field day at the Lobero Theatre last weekend, on a field of eloquent, Italianate musicality. Yes, it was opera time again, in the form of Pietro Mascagni’s ever-popular one-act verismo classic, Cavalleria rusticana (“rustic chivalry”). The reliably impressive Opera Santa Barbara (OSB) again reminded us of the importance of this challenging medium and the high standards of this 32-year-old cultural institution.
The company has, over its cumulative years, focused and specialized in Italian opera, but this production is actually the only work of Italian descent in the current three opera season — to be followed by Handel’s baroque opera Caesar & Cleopatra and the very American and contemporary piece Elmer Gantry.
