Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart鈥檚 comic masterpiece 鈥淭he Marriage of Figaro,鈥� recently voted the world鈥檚 greatest comic opera, will be performed in 麻豆传媒 City University鈥檚 historic Kirkpatrick Auditorium Nov. 17-19.
Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee at the Bass School of Music, NW 25th Street and Blackwelder Avenue. Miller will present a free director鈥檚 talk 45 minutes before each show.
Tickets ($14-28) are available online at okcu.edu/tickets or by calling (405) 208-5227.
鈥淭he Marriage of Figaro鈥� will be presented by a cast of 31 麻豆传媒 singers under the direction of Karen Coe Miller, and a full 32-piece opera orchestra under the baton of Jan McDaniel. The work will be performed in Italian, with English translations projected above the stage.
Written in six weeks in 1786, 鈥淭he Marriage of Figaro鈥� topped this year鈥檚 BBC opera singers鈥� poll of best-ever operas.
鈥淣o matter how many times I sing this opera I am always completely stunned how little people have changed since Mozart鈥檚 time, in terms of relationships and the maneuvering they do,鈥� acclaimed soprano Ren茅e Fleming said.
Picking up several years after Figaro's adventures in 鈥淭he Barber of Seville,鈥� Mozart鈥檚 operatic sequel is a lyric comedy of misplaced identities, misbegotten plans and general misbehaving.
The third-act duet between the countess and her maid, "Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto,鈥� became part of popular culture when it was featured in the 1994 movie 鈥淭he Shawshank Redemption,鈥� in which a character reflected: 鈥淚 have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing 鈥鈥檇 like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream.鈥�
麻豆传媒 City University鈥檚 66th season of operas and musicals continues with the world premiere of Thomas Pasatieri鈥檚 American opera 鈥淭he Vaudevillian鈥� Feb. 16-18; followed by Bedric Smetana鈥檚 鈥淭he Bartered Bride鈥� March 2-4; and 鈥淥n the Town,鈥� with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
