WNO Opens 54th Season With THE BARBER OF SEVILLE 9/12-20 At Kennedy Center Opera House

Washington National Opera (WNO), under the leadership of General Director Plácido Domingo, opens its 54th season with Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere de Siviglia) in eight performances, September 12 to 20 at the Kennedy Center Opera House. This light-hearted opera buffa, or comic opera, features an all-star cast, including American tenor Lawrence Brownlee in his WNO debut as Count Almaviva and Bolognese bass-baritone Simone Alberghini returning as Figaro. With upbeat classics such as Figaro's iconic "Largo al factotum" (the origin of the cry "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!"), the opera is among the most popular in the operatic repertoire. The Barber of Seville is performed in Italian with English supertitles. See below for production information, performance dates and ticketing information. 

Based on the first play of the Figaro trilogy by 18th-century French playwright Pierre de Beaumarchais, The Barber of Seville follows the adventures of young Count Almaviva as he attempts to win Rosina away from her guardian and soon-to-be fiancé Dr. Bartolo. Almaviva enlists the help of Bartolo's sharp-witted valet Figaro, whose farcical plans and hilarious disguises ultimately succeed in bringing Rosina and Almaviva together in happy matrimony. Beaumarchais' story of Figaro, Rosina and Almaviva continues at WNO in April 2010 with Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.

Among those making their WNO debuts in The Barber of Seville is internationally acclaimed American Lawrence Brownlee, winner of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award in 2006. An emerging principal tenor at the Metropolitan Opera as well as houses around the globe, Brownlee has been praised for his "bright, sweet and flexible voice [and] infectious energy" (The New York Times) and Opera News hailed his "dizzying execution" in the role of Almaviva, declaring him "a Rossinian to watch."

The double cast features several artists in their WNO debuts, including Argentine tenor Juan Francisco Gatell, sharing the role of Almaviva with Brownlee. In his WNO debut, Italian baritone Marco Caria sings the quick-witted barber Figaro, a role he shares with bass-baritone Simone Alberghini. In their WNO debuts, Spanish mezzo-soprano Silvia Tro Santafé and Georgian mezzo-soprano Ketevan Kemoklidze sing the role of the feisty Rosina. Playing Dr. Bartolo is Italian bass Donato DiStefano in his company debut, along with Colombian bass and former Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Valeriano Lanchas. Casting for each performance date listed below.

American bass-baritone Eric Owens sings the role of Rosina's music teacher, Don Basilio. Owens recently received high praise for his work with San Francisco Opera as Porgy in Porgy and Bess, a critically acclaimed WNO production which has sold out major opera houses around the country. Owens will return to Washington in March 2010 to reprise the role in WNO's Porgy and Bess.

In their company debuts, Italian conductor Michele Mariotti and American conductor Joseph Mechavich will lead the WNO Orchestra and Chorus. David Gately directs WNO's revival of its 1996 production, with sets by Allen Moyer and costumes by James Scott.

The running time for this production is approximately 2 hours and 44 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.

· Subscriptions are on sale now, and single tickets will go on sale August 3, ranging from $50 to $300. Tickets are available through WNO Audience Services, 202.295.2400 or 800.US.OPERA, or online at www.dc-opera.org.

· For information about specially priced tickets, available through Generation O (for patrons 18 to 35) and other programs, visit www.dc-opera.org.
· All performances of Washington National Opera's The Barber of Seville are held in the Kennedy Center Opera House, located at 2700 F Street NW, Washington, D.C.

· Casting, program, schedules and pricing are subject to change without notice.

For more information, as well as a complete cast list, visit www.dc-opera.org.

 

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