Madison Opera Opens 50th Season With The Marriage of Figaro 11/5, 11/7

Madison Opera opens its 50th anniversary season with Mozart's classic comedy The Marriage of Figaro on Friday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. The production features an internationally acclaimed cast, with A. Scott Parry directing and Maestro John DeMain conducting.

"It was important for us to start this milestone season with a perennial favorite to really excite the community," said General Director Allan Naplan. There is a historical component as well: almost fifty years ago, a group of local singers known as the Madison Opera Workshop presented scenes from The Marriage of Figaro for the company's second outing. Today, Madison Opera's production will feature a professional cast with credentials at leading U.S. and international opera houses, performing on the Overture Hall stage with a striking set design most recently seen at Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera. "It just shows how much we've grown," Naplan added.

Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte based The Marriage of Figaro on Beaumarchais' play of the same title, and it premiered in Vienna on May 1, 1786. Set in Seville, the opera follows the servants Figaro and Susanna on what is supposed to be their wedding day. But they work in the Count's household, and he, too, has eyes for Susanna, triggering a series of events full of laughs, heartache, and ultimately, reconciliation.

Starring as the charming Figaro is bass Jason Hardy. A leading American interpreter of the role, the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that he "turns in a Figaro of charismatic allure, with an elegant bass." Soprano Anya Matanovic returns to Madison as Susanna, having triumphed this summer at Opera in the Park. Soprano Melody Moore stars as Countess Almaviva, arriving in Madison directly from London, where the Daily Telegraph recently praised her "thrillingly red-blooded singing" in a new production of Faust at the English National Opera. Metropolitan Opera baritone Jeff Mattsey sings the role of Count Almaviva, and the young mezzo-soprano Emily Lorini, recently seen at the Santa Fe Opera, sings Cherubino. Michael Gallup and Melissa Parks are featured as Dr. Bartolo and Marcellina, with Madison-based artists Emily Birsan, James Doing, and Justin Niehoff Smith completing the ensemble as Barbarina, Don Basilio, and Antonio respectively.

Tickets are currently available online at www.madisonopera.org, by phone at (608) 258-4141, and at the Overture Center Box Office (201 State St., Madison, WI). Prices range from $16 to $114, with student and group discounts available.

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