Cape Town Opera Presents THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Now thru 26 October

Cape Town Opera will present a new production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's comic masterpiece of impetuous love, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (LE NOZZE DI FIGARO) in the Opera House at Artscape from today 18 to 26 October 2014.

Christine Crouse directs THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO with costumes and décor by Michael Mitchell, lighting by Kobus Rossouw and movement by Jackï Job. The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of acclaimed conductor, Maestro Jeremy Silver will accompany this production's talented cast.

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO continues the plot of THE BARBER OF SEVILLE several years later, and recounts a single "day of madness" (la folle journée) in the palace of Count Almaviva. One of the great jewels of comic opera, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO is a maze of unexpected twists and turns, mistaken identities, disguises and deceptions. Mischief and mayhem take over the stage when Figaro tries to outwit Count Almaviva, after the latter decides to claim his primitive right to have his way with Susanna on her wedding night.

Crouse muses on what why THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO remains popular 228 years after it was composed: "It is a feast for the ear and mind, whilst we observe a battle of wits we constantly are surprised by the unexpected, which is so true in real life! As Cape Town Opera hasn't done a mainstream production of FIGARO for a long time, Michael Mitchell and I decided to go for something that will be a feast for all the senses, setting the action in approximately 1844 in Spain. We are excited to be working with the talented singers that we have assembled for this production."

Figaro is sung by bass-baritone singer, George Stevens; Figaro's fiancé, Susanna, is sung by soprano, Siphamandla Yakupa; and Count Almaviva and the Countess Almaviva are sung by Mandisinde Mbuyazwe and Golda Schultz respectively. Cape Town Opera is delighted to welcome Schultz back to perform in THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO and to offer local audiences the opportunity to experience her wonderful vocal talents together with those of fellow singers Lynelle Kenned, Violina Anguelov, Thato Machona, Lukhanyo Moyake, Xolela Sixaba, Esewu Nobela and Nomsa Mpofu.

Stevens has portrayed the role of Figaro countless times and describes him as a special character, not really stupid or naïve as he is made out to be by the Count. "His plan of how to trick and still be the favourite without a finger being pointed at him is remarkable. Figaro is playful, yet serious and loving, and at times threatening, and takes on a challenge towards the Count," says Stevens.

After completing her degree at the University of Cape Town, Schultz joined Cape Town Opera in 2007 and subsequently won a place at the Juilliard School to study with Edith Bers, where she graduated in 2011. Her roles in the USA included La Fortuna and Valetto (L'INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA) and Mrs Jenks (THE TENDER LAND) at The Juilliard School; Alice Ford (FALSTAFF) and Rosina (THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES) at the Aspen Music Festival.

"Golda Schultz was an impressive surprise as the soprano. The South African, now based in Munich shows stupendous security in her intonation, highlighting Rossini's razor-sharp coloratura with power and nuance. A great voice," says Süddeutsche Zeitung, while Der Münchner Merkur claims that Schultz is "already a star... with an immaculately delivered generous soprano voice, (and who) has a genuine talent for dramatic action and a touching warmth in performance."

Of his return to the score of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Silver says, "Every time I am invited to conduct Mozart's MARRIAGE OF FIGARO it feels like I have been bestowed the most precious gift. It represents for me the opportunity to recreate and share one of the most critically insightful yet loving portrayals of human relationships that has ever been written. Yet for all its social commentary, the opera is principally an examination of different human relationships - the two-year-long marriage of the Count and Countess, the imminent wedding of Figaro and Susanna and the teenage passions of the young Cherubino. Mozart paints all these emotions with carefully crafted melodic lines and heart-melting harmonies. For me, it is this combination of the emotional, the practical, the comic and the sacred which makes this opera the greatest in the whole repertoire."

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO will be staged for five performances only at the Artscape in October. Tickets priced at R 150, R280 and R390 are on sale at Computicket. Cape Town Opera will conclude its 2014 season with the South African première of Dominick Argento's POSTCARD FROM MOROCCO at Artscape in November. This year has been a remarkable year for the company, with its fifteenth anniversary coming to an end after successful productions of AFRICAN ANGELS in Cologne and The Netherlands, Bryn Terfel concerts and SHOW BOAT in Cape Town and the United Kingdom, followed by MANDELA TRILOGY performed in Munich and PORGY AND BESS in Bordeaux and Barcelona.

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