In a pilot program to make opera more accessible to Ventura County residents, Opera SB will be offering bus transportation through the Ventura County Parks & Recreation Department to the Sunday Matinee performance of its first opera sung in Spanish, Il Postino (The Postman) by Mexian-American composer, Daniel Catán, on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 2:30pm at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E Canon Perdido St.
As part of Opera SB’s ongoing commitment to civic practice and creating more opportunities for Santa Barbara and its surrounding communities to experience opera, removing practical barriers like financial constraints and venue transportation has been a top priority this season.
“With a dedicated opera fan base in communities like Ventura and Oxnard for the company’s ongoing series of Free Noontime Concerts, creating easier access to attend the live, mainstage productions was a natural next step for Opera SB,” noted Kostis Protopapas, Artistic and General Director of Opera SB.
Tickets for the Il Postino performance with roundtrip busing included are being offered for $95 per person. For information about this trip, please view the Spring 2020 Tour Brochure at: https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19665/Travel-Brochure-SPRING-2020
The opera bus leaves from the parking lot directly behind the Ventura City Hall, 501/505 Poli St., at 12pm and returns at 6pm.
Registration for the bus and performance can be made through the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department:
1. Online: www.cityofventura.ca.gov/register
2. Over-the-Phone: 805-658-4726
3. In-Person: City Hall, 501 Poli St., Room 226
For those who do not need bus transportation, tickets can be purchased through the Lobero Theatre at lobero.org or by phone at (805) 963-0761.
The sounds of the Mediterranean come alive in Daniel Catán’s acclaimed opera sung in Spanish with English supertitles. Based on the Oscar-winning film, Il Postino (The Postman) chronicles the enduring friendship between exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Mario, the shy postman who brings him his fan mail. Mario becomes Neruda’s student, learning the art of poetry to woo a local barmaid and to express the struggles of his fellow working-class villagers who live on a small Italian island in the 1950s.
