top of page
Writer's picturePress Release

Grand Opera Returns to Virginia Opera with Mozart's beloved 'The Marriage of Figaro'



Words and Images Courtesy of the Virginia Opera


2021-2022 Season Concludes with Traditionally Staged Production




Norfolk, Richmond, Fairfax VA (March 9, 2022)—

Providing an exclamation point to the return to its three mainstage venues across the Commonwealth, Virginia Opera presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. This traditional production of one of opera’s most loved and performed works includes a full orchestra and chorus in addition to a classic set and period costumes. Performances are planned at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, the Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax.

Grand opera is back!” exclaims Peggy Kriha Dye, General Director and CEO of Virginia Opera. “Our company showed a great deal of flexibility and innovation this season. Kicking off with Das Rheingold at Topgolf, followed by a tailored version of La Bohème, and most recently the contemporary and powerful family story of Three Decembers allowed us to return to producing opera for our audiences. We are thrilled to conclude our season bringing a classic to life with The Marriage of Figaro. Everything about this production epitomizes ‘Grand Opera’ and we know our audiences are ready for the complete experience – including a beverage at intermission.”

The Marriage of Figaro will be sung in Italian with English surtitles and will feature the Richmond Symphony.

"It's thrilling to be revisiting Mozart's masterpiece after a nearly decade-long hiatus, and this production of Figaro is going to be nothing short of enchanting." said Adam Turner, Artistic Director of Virginia Opera. "Guided by our talented Stage Director Kyle Lang, with a proven track record of beguiling stagings over the years, we have a phenomenally talented cast featuring several new voices. One of our very "own" - former Herndon Foundation Emerging Artist Symone Harcum - returns to debut the role of the Countess, while Alisa Jordheim and Erik Earl Larson make their Virginia Opera mainstage debuts as the beloved wedding couple Susanna and Figaro. Our fabulous Chorus also makes its return after a more than two-year hiatus, and our wonderful colleagues at the Richmond Symphony round out this beautiful production. Figaro promises to deliver a performance to remember, with its resounding message best encapsulated by one of the show's final lines - in the end there is only love."

Kyle Lang, Stage Director for recent Virginia Opera productions of Cinderella and The Elixir of Love, returns for this production. “This story allows us to see the many facets of love in its characters, from the first pangs of physical attraction to the deep-rooted love that is tested. Through humor and tension, we may glance in the mirror at the complexity that lies within the heart and maybe understand more of the human condition.”

Tickets are on sale for The Marriage of Figaro which can be purchased at vaopera.org/figaro or by calling 866.673.7282.

Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, Virginia

Wednesday, March 23, 2022, Student Night at the Opera

Friday, March 25, 2022, at 8:00 pm

Saturday, March 26, 2022, at 7:30 pm

Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 2:30 pm

Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center, Richmond, Virginia

Friday, April 1, 2022, at 8:00 pm

Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 2:30 pm

Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

Saturday, April 9, 2022, at 8:00 pm

Sunday, April 10, 2022, at 2:00 pm

The Marriage of Figaro Production Notes

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Sung in Italian with English Surtitles

Orchestra provided by the Richmond Symphony

The Marriage of Figaro Cast and Creative

Conductor

Adam Turner

Stage Director

Kyle Lang

Set Designer

Peter Dean Beck

Lighting Design

Driscoll Otto

Costume Design

Paul Brown

Wig and Make Up Designer

James P. McGough

CAST

Richard Ollarsaba

Bass-baritone: Count Almaviva

Last Virginia Opera Appearance: Raimondo, Lucia di Lammermoor, 2018

Recent Highlights: Representing USA, 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World; Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni, Opera Hong Kong; Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro, New Zealand Opera

Upcoming: Escamillo, Carmen, Glimmerglass Festival; Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Symone Harcum ±

Soprano: Countess Almaviva

Last Virginia Opera Appearance: Clorinda, La Cenerentola, 2020

Recent Highlights: Leontine, L'Amant Anonyme, Minnesota Opera; Mascha, Pique Dame, Des Moines Metro Opera

Upcoming: Micaela, Carmen, Minnesota Opera; Glimmerglass Opera; Almirena, Rinaldo, Minnesota Opera; Donna Anna, Don Giovanni, Minnesota Opera

Alisa Jordheim *

Soprano: Susanna

Virginia Opera Debut

Recent Highlights: Despina, Così fan tutte, San Diego Opera; Gilda, Rigoletto, Central City Opera & San Diego Opera; Cunegonde, Candide, Palm Beach Opera; Ninetta, La gazza ladra, Teatro Nuovo; Erster Knappe, Parsifal, Opéra national de Paris

Upcoming: Adele, Die Fledermaus, Central City Opera

Erik Earl Larson *

Baritone: Figaro

Virginia Opera Debut

Recent Highlights: Géneral Moncada, Zorro (World Premiere), Fort Worth Opera; Count Ceprano, Rigoletto, Austin Opera

Upcoming: Bass Soloist, Messiah, Memphis Symphony Orchestra; Marullo, Rigoletto, The Dallas Opera

Lauren Cook ^

Mezzo-soprano: Cherubino

Last Virginia Opera Appearance: Wellgunde, Das Rheingold, 2021

Recent Highlights: Hannah After, As One (Oklahoma Premiere), Painted Sky Opera; Antonia, Man of La Mancha, Opera Saratoga; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Scalia-Ginsburg, Opera Naples

Upcoming: Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist, Arizona Opera

Whitney Robinson ^

Mezzo-soprano: Marcellina

Last Virginia Opera Appearance: Erda/Flosshilde, Das Rheingold, 2021

Recent Highlights: Zanetto, Zanetto, Operativo; Erda/Flosshilde, Das Rheingold, Virginia Opera; Housekeeper, Man of La Mancha, Opera Saratoga

Upcoming: Sister Sophia, The Sound of Music, Virginia Arts Festival & Virginia Opera; Berta, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Opera Saratoga

Jason Ferrante *

Tenor: Basilio/Don Curzio

Virginia Opera Debut

Recent Highlights: Beadle Bamford, Sweeney Todd, Opera Omaha; Little Bat, Susannah, Nashville Opera; Don Basilio, Le Nozze di Figaro, Opera Philadelphia

Upcoming: Fourth Jew, Salome, Tulsa Opera

Eric J. McConnell ^

Bass-baritone: Bartolo

Last Virginia Opera Appearance: Colline, La Bohème, 2021

Recent Highlights: Donner, Das Rheingold, Virginia Opera; Bartolo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Opera Steamboat; Ceprano, Rigoletto, Central City Opera

Upcoming: Osmin, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Opera on the James; Ufficiale/Basilio (cover), Il barbiere di Siviglia, Opera Saratoga; Carl-Magnus, A Little Night Music, Union Avenue Opera

Catherine Goode ^

Soprano: Barbarina

Last Virginia Opera Appearance: Woglinde, Das Rheingold, 2021

Recent Highlights: Amore, Orfeo ed Euridice, Kentucky Opera; Young Artist, Merola Opera Program; Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Opera in the Heights

Upcoming: Krysia, Two Remain, Central City Opera; Adele, Die Fledermaus (family performance), Central City Opera; Lauretta/Plaintiff, Gianni Schicchi/Trial by Jury, Salt Marsh Opera

Chauncey Blade *^

Bass-baritone: Antonio

Virginia Opera Debut

Recent Highlights: Sir John Falstaff, Falstaff, IU Opera Theatre; Count Monterone, Rigoletto, Sacramento Phil & Opera

*Denotes VA Opera Debut

^Denotes 21-22 Herndon Foundation Emerging Artist

±Denotes Former Herndon Foundation Emerging Artist

ABOUT VIRGINIA OPERA

Virginia Opera, the official opera company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation and is the only company to perform regularly in three separate main stage venues: the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, the Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax. Organized in 1974, Virginia Opera is respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs.

60 views0 comments

コメント


bottom of page