The Marriage of Figaro at Bard

August 12, 2011

As summer reaches its peak, Bard on the Beach once again presents its annual Opera & Arias concert series, this year featuring one of the world’s best-loved operatic works, Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”.

The gifted young stars of the UBC Opera, accompanied by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, bring Mozart’s delightful comic opera to the Bard Mainstage. There’s a rakish count, a broken hearted countess, boorish social climbers, a sex-charged teenager – and at the centre of the whirlwind, Figaro and his bride-to-be, the servant girl Susanna. Will Figaro ever have his long overdue wedding? UBC’s Nancy Hermiston directs the fully costumed, in-concert staging of Mozart’s timeless masterpiece, with conductor Leslie Dala leading the musicians.

[Bard site. Photo credit: Blimp Aerial Photography]

Two evening concerts and two matinees are scheduled:

Monday, August 29 at 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm and Labour Day Monday, September 5, at 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm.

The opera will be staged in Bard’s new and updated Mainstage Theatre tent in Vanier Park, with a spectacular backdrop of mountains, sea, and sky.

UBC Opera Ensemble began in 1995 by Professor Hermiston. It culls its performers from advanced students in the UBC School of Music as well as from young professionals in the music industry. For The Marriage of Figaro, the talented cast of rising opera stars will feature both familiar and debut soloists. Bass baritone Jordan Collalto will sing Figaro while sopranos Julia Kott and Anne Marie MacIntosh will alternate as Susanna. Other roles and chorus will be performed by: Aaron Durand, Richard Petroski, Ember Lanuti, Kayleigh Harrison, Francesca Corrado, Alys Richards, Dheni Wlash, Christopher Van Wyck, Evanna Chiew, Heather Molloy, Andrew Robb, Eric Schwarzhoff, Haitham Haidar, Giuseppe Zappone, Ana Toumine and Lindsay McIntyre.

Tickets for The Marriage of Figaro are $40.00 (evenings) and $35.00 (matinee). Order by phone at 604.739.0559, or via the Bard on the Beach website. Youth tickets are also available. This event is generously sponsored by MCL Motor Cars.