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Opera San José's relocation to the newly renovated California Theatre is cause for much celebration, and grand affairs are planned to mark this momentous move. But the company's debut production at the theater, The Marriage of Figaro, has more to do with good old silly fun than grandeur, which is probably one of the reasons why the work is one of the most beloved operas of all time--though of course the main reason is its irresistible music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This fittingly jubilant work opens Opera San José's inaugural season at the California Theatre on Sept. 18.
This romantic comedy brings many familiar tunes, such as the favorite arias "Voi, che sapete" and "Non piu andrai," to the California's stage for the first time, in a lighthearted tale that intertwines love, lust and longing.
Figaro, the valet of the libidinous Count Almaviva, is engaged to Susanna, maid to the count's neglected wife. The count's wandering eye has landed upon Susanna, and he intends to invoke the right of a master to take a servant's place in the marital bed on his wedding night. When Figaro and Susanna learn of the count's plan, with the help of the countess and several other servants, they scheme to dupe the count out of his "privilege" and fix his own ailing marriage in the process.
Though this convoluted comedy features pratfalls and innuendoes at every turn and perhaps more disguises and cases of mistaken identity than in all of Shakespeare's works combined, there was true method to the madness. The opera is based on a story by 18th-century French writer Pierre Beaumarchais, who, amid all the silliness, managed to get in quite a few satirical swipes at the nobility that were near-revolutionary for the time.
Opera San José's tradition of double casting continues with Joseph Wright and Jason Detwiler as Figaro and Sandra Rubalcava and Aimée Puentes as Susanna. David Rohrbaugh and Anthony Quartuccio conduct. The Marriage of Figaro will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Opera San José presents "The Marriage of Figaro" Sept. 18Oct. 3 at the California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose. Tickets are $68$88 opening/$60$80 regular performances. For more information, call 408.437.4450 or see www.operasj.org.
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