It’s common wisdom around these parts that the best time of year is September, after the fog and the tourists have left town and the ocean has become marginally less icy, making swimming an actual possibility. But thousands of arts lovers in town know otherwise. For them, the real fun starts in late July, when dancers are kicking up their heels on Cabrillo Stage, the strains of Bach are wafting up from Carmel, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra members start lugging their instruments into town and Shakespeare Santa Cruz ticketholders crack open bottles of wine and picnic baskets in the Sinsheimer Festival Glen, waiting for darkness to fall and the stage to come to life.
Each of these festivals packs special punch this year. After 18 years under the direction of German conductor Bruno Weil, the world-renowned Carmel Bach Festival (July 17-31) sends him off with a grand farewell: 42 concerts in 15 days. At Shakespeare Santa Cruz (July 20-Aug. 29), audiences finally get to see artistic director Marco Barricelli take the stage in The Lion in Winter, while a familiar actor directs Love’s Labor’s Lost and an up-and-coming New York director takes the helm of Othello. Cabrillo Stage, having charmed fans earlier in the season with I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Swing!, mounts a lush production of Cabaret (July 23-Aug. 15), an unusual musical with dark undercurrents. And the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (Aug. 1-15), the West Coast’s premier showcase for new classical music, outdoes itself with a groundbreaking 13 composers-in-residence, including Philip Glass, Jennifer Higdon and Kevin Puts, and guest artists including Colin Currie, Kronos Quartet and the kinetic chamber ensemble eighth blackbird.
Head spinning yet? It ought to be. These are polished productions, and a person can’t be everywhere at once. Our advice: rest up now. It’s going to be a busy few weeks.
