Vanderbilt Opera Theatre’s The Marriage of Figaro
Jessica Cardona
On November 10th and 12th, the Vanderbilt Opera Theatre (VOT) performed an English language production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The setting of 18th century Spain was changed to suit modern tastes. The characters are now part of a reality show that is essentially a mashup of Big Brother and The Bachelor. The aim of this show is to have a housemate marry Figaro (Luke Harnish), the designated bachelor. Susanna (Lauren Urquhart) is most likely going to be the bride of Figaro. However, their potential marriage is compromised by the lusty Lindoro (Matt Brennan), an older member of the household who is determined to win Susanna’s love.
This unconventional setting makes for an interesting show. The chorus members, who are a T.V. crew in this production, control cameras in the background. A screen projecting a “live” Twitter feed is above the stage. Audience members are even invited to vote on which character Figaro will marry. It’s obvious that this modern milieu is intended to send a message about the timelessness of the opera.
The orchestra did a wonderful job with Mozart’s score. The singers, however, had some problems. The original libretto, or lyrics, is in Italian. For this production, the translated English libretto was used. Translated English in opera is notoriously difficult to understand, and for that reason, subtitles are usually projected above the stage. Unfortunately, the VOT decided to forgo subtitles. They also didn’t bother to print out the synopsis of each act in the playbill.
Because of this, the singers were hard to comprehend, and it was obvious that they needed to work on their enunciation. This mistake actually seemed to repel some of the audience members. By the beginning of the second half, many previously filled seats were empty.
If you’re interested in The Marriage of Figaro, then watch this film adaptation. It’s sung in the original Italian (with English subtitles, of course,) and stars the legendary Kiri Te Kanawa as Susanna. It follows the original setting and synopsis, but it holds up far better than Vanderbilt’s version.
Jessica Cardona
On November 10th and 12th, the Vanderbilt Opera Theatre (VOT) performed an English language production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The setting of 18th century Spain was changed to suit modern tastes. The characters are now part of a reality show that is essentially a mashup of Big Brother and The Bachelor. The aim of this show is to have a housemate marry Figaro (Luke Harnish), the designated bachelor. Susanna (Lauren Urquhart) is most likely going to be the bride of Figaro. However, their potential marriage is compromised by the lusty Lindoro (Matt Brennan), an older member of the household who is determined to win Susanna’s love.
This unconventional setting makes for an interesting show. The chorus members, who are a T.V. crew in this production, control cameras in the background. A screen projecting a “live” Twitter feed is above the stage. Audience members are even invited to vote on which character Figaro will marry. It’s obvious that this modern milieu is intended to send a message about the timelessness of the opera.
The orchestra did a wonderful job with Mozart’s score. The singers, however, had some problems. The original libretto, or lyrics, is in Italian. For this production, the translated English libretto was used. Translated English in opera is notoriously difficult to understand, and for that reason, subtitles are usually projected above the stage. Unfortunately, the VOT decided to forgo subtitles. They also didn’t bother to print out the synopsis of each act in the playbill.
Because of this, the singers were hard to comprehend, and it was obvious that they needed to work on their enunciation. This mistake actually seemed to repel some of the audience members. By the beginning of the second half, many previously filled seats were empty.
If you’re interested in The Marriage of Figaro, then watch this film adaptation. It’s sung in the original Italian (with English subtitles, of course,) and stars the legendary Kiri Te Kanawa as Susanna. It follows the original setting and synopsis, but it holds up far better than Vanderbilt’s version.