Students will have four chances to see the University Opera Ensemble perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s popular comic opera, “The Marriage of Figaro,” this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“The Marriage of Figaro,” directed by Assistant Professor Charles Turley, is based on a 1784 play by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais, and is a sequel to his earlier play, “The Barber of Seville.” Turley chose the opera as the natural follow-up to Eugene Opera’s winter production of “The Barber of Seville,” according to a University press release.
“Having our production of ‘Figaro’ follow Eugene Opera’s ‘Barber’ seemed like a great idea,” Turley said in the press release, “not only because they are linked story-wise, but it also gives us a way to tie into Mozart’s 250th birthday and the celebration of his amazing talent.”
The principal singers are top vocalists at the University’s School of Music, and Turley has double-cast most of the roles to allow more of the accomplished singers to perform in featured roles: Marie Landreth and Doremus Scudder are doctoral voice students and have many professional productions to their credit. Landreth is also a faculty member at the famed Vienna Conservatory in Austria. Mario Chae is a veteran of Eugene Opera productions, Gene Chin is a graduate student and veteran of several University opera productions, and Swedish soprano Annika Backstrom is a doctoral student making her University debut.
Others in the cast include Andrew Sauvageau, Jennifer Russell, Philip Engdahl, Suzie Day, Michael Sarnoff-Wood, Sandy Naishtat, Kirsten Arbogast, Carlos Zapien, Dana Hutcheon, Megan Sand, Elisabeth Perry, Bryan Levy and Megan Williams.
The performances begin at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, in Lane Community College’s Performance Hall auditorium. The ensemble will also perform at 7:30 p.m. the following Saturday, March 11, at Umpqua Community College’s Jacoby Auditorium in Roseburg.
Reserve tickets for the LCC performances from the ticket office in the EMU or at the door an hour before the show. The cost is $15 for the general public and $10 for students