Borgamaria presents 'Figaro'

The Borgamaria Lyric Opera, in conjunction with the Yuba-Sutter Regional Arts Council, presents Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," now showing at Lee Burrows Center for the Arts in Marysville.

"We are so excited to present this stunning opera of Mozart's," said director Joaquina Johnson. "It's probably one of the most beloved operas in the repertoire.

"The story is so beautifully set," Johnson continued. "It is a story of the classes, you might say, between the aristocracy and the servants. And in the end, you find out this is a story that works in any time period," though Mozart's version premiered in 1786.

"The story is so delightful, and I remember many years ago, when I was studying in graduate school, the opera director I had ... absolutely loved 'The Marriage of Figaro,'" Johnson said. "He always said it was one of the most believable stories in all of the opera repertoire and could be put into any time setting. We are setting it in the 17th century."

The Borgamaria program says "The Marriage of Figaro" "is based on Beaumarchais' 1784 play 'La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro,' a sequel to his earlier play, 'Le Barbier de Séville' ('The Barber of Seville'), familiar to opera audiences through Rossini's great opera (Mozart's opera premiered in 1786; Rossini's premiered in 1816)," translated into English by Ruth and Thomas Martin.

The action begins with Figaro, performed by Thor Campbell, measuring a room that he will share with his betrothed, Susanna, performed by Kathryn Donovan. Figaro is valet to Count Almaviva, performed by Kenneth J. Pereira; Susanna is chambermaid to Countess Almaviva, performed by Kelly Cunningham. Cherubino, performed by Krissy Dodge, is the Count's wily page who is in love with just about every female in the castle.

The cast also includes Eliza Skeffington as Marcellina; Brant Bordsen as Don Bartolo; Matt Hidalgo as Don Basilio and Don Curzio; Mark Tyler as Antonio; and Madeline Kellogg as Barbarina. The chorus includes Terry Barber, Michael Bryant, Brennah Kemmerly, Angie Knopp and Elizabeth Whittenbury.

Pianist Greg Mason provides accompaniment. "We have a wonderful artist who will be our orchestra, literally," Johnson said. "His name is Greg Mason; he's from the Bay Area and is very well known. In the Lee Burrows hall, of course, we cannot have a huge orchestra, so Mason plays the piano. And often, this is not unusual in opera: A) to cut costs; B) to accommodate whatever venue they are in; and often operas perform this way — with one or two pianos — on tour. So it works very, very well.

"Most of the singers are from our very own community," Johnson said. "Several do not live right in the community now but close by. But many were born here, work here or were raised here or have come back — and that is the truly delightful thing. This is regional opera, and it's being produced and performed by members of our own community."

Production staff includes Howard Johnson, rehearsal pianist; Linda Elrod, director's assistant; Teresa Aronson, graphic designer; Yvonne Sumner, costume design and construction; Joseph Stottmann, technical design; Mark Tyler, supertitles; and Lana March, photography.

"I'm just so pleased with all of these people who are really giving of their own time and talents," Johnson said, "because they care very much about this community and about bringing them a genre of art that we readily do not have available to us here."

Pereira, who performs as the Count, said, "This shows that opera is not an elitist art form; anyone can be involved in it. And this story in particular is over 200 years old, but the battle of the sexes hasn't changed much, or the battle of the classes."

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays through May 22. "Don't say you don't like opera," Johnson said, "because opera is so accessible — especially because we are doing this in English, with supertitles, and the storyline is delightful. And the music is memorable. And I know that almost everybody has heard some part of this music. They may not know where it's from, but I know you will recognize it.

"'The Marriage of Figaro' is a long opera," she added. "It's four acts. It's three hours, and people really need to be prepared to come view an opera for three hours with several intervals. But I know they're going to enjoy it, especially with the spoken dialogue and then everything being sung in English.

"This is Borgamaria's biggest project thus far."

CONTACT Susan Benitez at 749-4773.