“When you hear the bell, we will summon The Swan,” read the top of Not for Radio’s program for the “Winter In The Garden” theatre tour.
María Zardoya, lead singer of the Los Angeles band The Marías, stepped out on her own to debut her solo project, Not for Radio. She performed her first album, “Melt,” in full during the inaugural theatre tour, which spanned 13 dates and brought her reimagining of “Swan Lake” to Illinois, New York, Texas and back home to California.
At the final stop in Los Angeles, fans filled The United Theater on Broadway, a venue known for its Spanish Gothic architecture and ornate interior. A string quartet performed themes from Swan Lake as attendees browsed merchandise and waited for the show to begin.
When bells rang through the theatre, fans dressed in whimsical black and white outfits took their seats. Soft whispers spread through the crowd as anticipation built for Zardoya’s arrival as “the swan.”
The whispers faded and a maroon velvet curtain lifted to reveal Zardoya nestled in a mossy nook at center stage. Candles flickered from surrounding candelabras, creating a dreamlike setting that transformed the space into an earthy retreat.
Dressed in all-white Alexander McQueen, Zardoya rose from the nook with graceful, swan-like movements. Just as “Puddles” opened the album, it opened the show, introducing Act 1, “Enchanted Fireflies,” with soft synths.
“Our existence in the natural world is delicate,” the program read, setting the tone for songs that explored quiet hope and longing, including “Moment” and “Magnet.” Zardoya continued the narrative with a dreamy performance of an unreleased song.
“I’d like for all of us to imagine that this beautiful theatre is our living room and we’re all just cozying up, and we just turned on the fire and it’s crackling. It’s really warm,” Zardoya said. “We have blankets all around us … and it’s snowing outside, so let’s just paint that picture. This song is called Living Room.”
She closed the first act with “Water On Your Nose,” a song about accepting a love that was never meant to last. The song’s ending ushered in Act 2, “A Swan in the Night.”
The second act reflected on love beyond idealism. Through songs like “My Turn” and “Slip,” Zardoya examined heartbreak, mistakes and the reality beneath romance.
“In the warm summer air and in the dead of the night, swans choose each other. Nature isn’t grand, but it is simple,” the program read.
Swans mate for life and experience love and loss as humans do, yet nature accepts these moments as part of existence.
“In being, there is heartbreak. But it is nature that knows what we do not. And it is the swan that shows us this.”
Zardoya ended Act 2 with “Swan,” a song centered on devotion. “A part of me is a part of you is a part of me too,” she sang as her partner laid the white swan to rest and the curtain closed.
Act 3, “The Underworld,” revealed Zardoya in all-black Alexander McQueen as black feathers filled the air, symbolizing the black swan. In “Not the Only One,” she questioned whether love justified the pain it brought.
Songs like “Vueltas,” “No One Noticed” and “Back To You” answered that question by acknowledging love and loss as intertwined experiences.
“In heartbreak, there is redemption. In darkness, there is growth,” the program read. “We learn that love cannot exist without pain, and pain cannot exist without love.”
Zardoya’s delicate yet powerful storytelling created a space where audience members experienced the music freely, whether through movement, tears or quiet reflection.
As the curtain closed and “The End” appeared against the velvet backdrop, the performance ended. The audience left with a reminder that love, in both joy and pain, remained an essential part of the human experience.
