"Afterwards, folks spill back out into the Highland Park night with a gleam in their eyes and lightness in their step—all warmth and smiles, lit up from the inside. This is what inevitably happens... you leave feeling like you just took part in something really special, something sacred that can never be recreated."

-- Christina Huntington (Sirens and Scoundrels)

Salastina’s OC fan tutte Proves We’re All “Like That” Sometimes

“In Mozart’s Così fan tutte, women are the butt of the joke. While Lorenzo Da Ponte’s story ultimately pokes fun at both sexes, jabs about flighty, unreliable, silly women pepper the 18th-century libretto… Despite its inherent sexism, Così fan tutte remains popular with 21st-century audiences — and for good reason: Mozart’s music is charming, the characters endearing, the plot entertaining. To enjoy all that, we grin and bear it, chuckling uncomfortably through outdated misogyny so that we can enjoy everything we love about this classic rom-com.

Today, it’s relatively common for opera companies to tweak supertitle translations of old works, updating them to reflect contemporary cultural mores and obscure expired racist or sexist language. That proves challenging with a piece like Così, in which sexism is so central to its plot it’s embedded in the title, which is often translated as “Women are like that.” Ridding this story of misogyny requires a total remodel, not just a fresh coat of paint.

Librettist Vid Guerrerio’s solution to this problem is clever. Rather than attempting to whitewash Così of its sexism or work around it, he highlights and recontextualizes it in a reworking titled OC fan tutte. Set in conservative Orange County, Guerrerio replaces ladies of the court, military officers, and a chambermaid with Bible-toting, praise- and worship-singing evangelical Christians and a drag queen. Instead of laughing at women, we find ourselves laughing at the absurdity of purity culture and the idiocy of homophobia.

The dynamic and distinctive Los Angeles chamber group Salastina presented three performances of an unstaged chamber version of OC fan tutte over the weekend in Pasadena, downtown L.A., and Santa Monica… Those who attend[ed] were treated to a sharp-witted, musically vibrant performance.

Founded in 2010 by violinists Maia Jasper White and Kevin Kumar, Salastina is composed of a core group of Hollywood studio musicians who are also members of groups like Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Pacific Symphony and professors of music at local universities. It’s a dynamic and engaging group known for presenting non-traditional concerts that draw the audience into the conversation to explore old and new music interactively.

Jasper White expertly led the small, conductor-less ensemble… With three robust, energetic chords, the eight-piece band opened the performance with a glorious punch, instantly enveloping the audience in an intoxicating sonic embrace. From there they drew us into the action with an energetic tempo that delivered momentum and verve while never feeling rushed. Playing with the tight clarity of a well-rehearsed chamber group and… the broad warmth of a much larger ensemble, they delivered a remarkably pithy and charming performance.

A great chamber group doesn’t need a conductor, but when singers enter the mix, tight cohesion is slightly more challenging. Still, Jasper White corralled the opera’s six person cast beautifully, handily juggling her roles as conductor, prompter, and concertmaster.

Ultimately, this performance was musically delightful and theatrically lively…

Tongue-in-cheek throughout, Guerrerio dismantles the toxic misogyny and homophobia of megachurch conservative Christianity by pointing out the flimsy absurdity of its bigotry. When Will and Frankie head off to “the Army Corps for Christ,” they reassure their girlfriends they’re in no danger and it’s “all low-risk.” Alonzo (Don Alfonso), who is gay in this version of the story, clarifies as an aside: “There is fighting, but that portion/is against gays and abortion.” 

The message at the end of this Così is clear: We’re all “like that” sometimes. So ditch the pearl-clutching and bigotry and instead include everyone and get kinky.”

— Catherine Womack (San Francisco Classical Voice)

On Artistic Programming

"Programming – the selection of works to be played at a performance of classical music – can be crucial. In the right hands, it not only makes for an appealing spectrum of contrasting and complementing colors, but it also sets the listeners’ ears on a journey in which these works not only stand alone, but are also contextualized within the greater environment that surrounds them. It’s a kind of storytelling in which piece after succeeding piece draws the listener along the compelling thread of narrative spool being drawn before them. In this regard, the performances last weekend by Salastina... revealed not only the superlative polish of their musicians, but their uncanny ability to weave programs that can be illuminating and even surprising."

-- Nestor Castiglione (Crescenta Valley Weekly)

"The program did, in fact, keenly engage my attention with its inherent pace and diversity – not to mention the outstanding artistry, virtuosity and creativity... Kumar and Jasper created one of the highlights of the afternoon with their breathtaking performance of Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz. They were of one mind in their moving portrayal.  Their continuous legato lines beautifully intertwined in O’Connor’s unique blend of classical, bluegrass and jazz.  The performance was stunning in its simple beauty.  I will not soon forget the experience."

-- Theodore Bell (CultureSpot LA)

"Salastina’s… opening concert followed the contemporary trend of embedding a classical gem — in this case, Brahms Op. 111 Quintet — with music of varying character and sensibility. The world premiere of Jeremy Cavaterra’s brought forth real soul from Elizabeth Futral, who then closed the concert in triumph with a “Sempre Libera” that brought down the house. The quality and commitment of the players throughout the evening was never in doubt; they... gave a lesson in elegant virtuosity that is rare."

— Laurence Vittes (Gramophone Magazine/Huffington Post)

"The  core musicians have become very comfortable together and transmit a cohesive artistic interpretation and synchrony in their timing. Salastina... has become a very significant and distinctive contribution to the chamber music scene in Los Angeles. The scholarly programming with its quality of intellect and approachability, coupled with the area’s finest musicians, is a winning combination."

-- Theodore Bell (CultureSpot LA)

"Transfigured Night, especially the way it was played the other night... covers an enormous amount of emotional terrain. I can't imagine a better interpretation of this piece, which was remarkably warm and saw each voice fully integrated with the others. A nice bonus to this and some other Salastina concerts include an introductory interpretation by the KUSC deejay and general classical man-about-town Brian Lauritzen... By asking the group to play brief passages from the piece, he brought out far more than I knew."

-- Scott Timberg (The Misread City)

"Genuine care and thought was clearly put into assembling these works into a context that illuminated facets of them that are often overlooked… No less care was lavished on the performances themselves; each of the musicians on stage formidable solo artists in their own right. Their unanimity of tone, elegant phrasing, deep expressiveness, and bristling energy had to be heard to be believed… The name ‘Salastina’ may not be known even to some of the region’s hard-core chamber music buffs. It’s one of Southern California’s best-kept musical secrets – but extraordinary performances such as Sunday’s will assure it a lasting fame well beyond the Golden State’s borders."

-- Ted Ayala (Crescenta Valley Weekly)

"Not only did [Salastina] assemble a thought-provoking program that was played with world-class polish, but they did what more classical music organizations ought to in their performances: Give the listener to something to think hard over even after the notes have long since vanished into silence." 

-- Nestor Castiglione (Crescenta Valley Weekly)

The concert began with Claude Debussy’s enigmatic ‘Syrinx’ for solo flute. Benjamin Smolen’s presentation was highly (and correctly) dramatic, and the drama of silence was as important as the music…The piece requires full mastery of breath control, perfect intonation and a large dynamic range, all of which were executed beautifully by Smolen. Its three-plus minutes were so ethereal, I wished that he had performed it a second time as an encore.

‘Syrinx’ was followed by the hugely prolific Georg Philipp Telemann’s Canonic Sonata No.2 in D major… This multi-movement composition was performed by Smolen… with Maia Jasper White, a violinist with both style and pizzazz. It was exciting and pleasurable from pick-up to coda.”

— Douglas Dutton (Seen and Heard International)

On Leading the Charge Online

“There are groups, however, that have seen returns from their internet initiatives that have made them financially stronger and artistically more visible… in Los Angeles, chamber group Salastina met the pandemic with a series of Happy Hour livestreams in which they talked with high-profile musicians in a Zoom chat room.

Maia Jasper White, Salastina’s co-founder, and co-director Kevin Kumar… always thought about chamber music in terms of creating community and routinely mingled with their audiences before and during concerts.

“All of us know that COVID was a really isolating time,” White said, “so it didn’t take heavy thinking to realize that a social experience was absent from people’s lives. The Zoom room was as real as any other room.” The feedback from the Happy Hour experiment was: “‘Oh, I’m so happy to be getting to know these beautiful artists.’ There was constant reinforcement of that approach, that what we were doing was creating an artistic community, not just broadcasting content to keep ourselves and our work justifiable.”

As live performances resumed, White and Kumar noticed what White called “Zoom fatigue.” People wanted a break from the chat room, and in response, Salastina changed the Happy Hour concept to integrate a live audience and an online one. The group is upgrading the experience, making it “meatier and more well produced” and also less frequent. And they’re combining that initiative with their live programming, which is also livestreamed.

White reports that some local audience members are choosing to continue attending online, but now Salastina also has out-of-state loyalists who come to L.A. for the ensemble’s concerts. Most importantly, Salastina saw a 58 percent jump in revenue during 2020–2021, and their membership base tripled.

Modestly, White added, “In terms of individuals reached, our audience grew 3,900 percent because of online engagement. It was 27,000 people (over two years) when we include the Happy Hours and how many people are served by our hospital concerts.” Not surprisingly, White expects to continue livestreaming in the future. “When I went through our finances and added up our earned income, I was surprised to see the final tally of online ticket sales. I thought we shouldn’t discount having that as a [continuing] option. It’s the expectation now.”

— Jim Farber and Michael Zwiebach (San Francisco Classical Voice)