‘Figaro’ hones cast’s knowledge of human relationships

Clearly, lessons need to be taught in Count Almaviva’s household, and Figaro, the count’s raffish manservant, is just the guy for the job.

Or so he thinks. When, after all, was anything so simple and straightforward?

In the University Opera’s production of Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro,” the student cast is gearing up for their characters’ comeuppances.

In the title role is Thomas J. Weis, a baritone from Marshfield pursuing his Ph.D. in vocal performance.

“The role of Figaro is something I’ve wanted to undertake for many years,” he says. “He fits my personality and voice, and this should be the opportunity of a lifetime for me.”

Weis says that it’s tempting to confuse Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” with Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”

“Mozart’s ‘Figaro’ deals with life after ‘The Barber of Seville,’ which is confusing because the operas are in reverse chronological order,” he says, noting that Mozart wrote his in 1786, while Rossini’s premiered in 1816.

“Mozart’s writing is genius throughout the opera. My own personal belief is that Bugs Bunny’s version of the Rossini opera made it stick in a lot of people’s minds,” says Weis.

Despite the influence of “The Rabbit of Seville,” the Mozart opera is performed more often, says William Farlow, director of the University Opera.

“In the last 20 years, the stats show that ‘Figaro’ has been performed much more often than ‘Barber,’” he says. “It was with this opera that Mozart really hit his stride as a composer for the musical theater.

“The perfect melding of music to text and the very modern sense of theatrical timing that he uses in ‘Figaro’ are taken even further in later works like ‘The Magic Flute.’”

“It’s amazing to see how much the personalities of these characters relate to modern people,” observes Keith Dixon, a first-year master’s candidate in voice performance from Detroit. He will take on the role of Count Almaviva.

“The count is just a person out to get what he wants, like most of us. We all have different ways of pursuing what we want, and the count isn’t one to beat around the bush in going after his. Realizing the differences of personalities in the roles helps me understand how people both on the stage and in real life portray themselves. It also helps me accept them for who they are, to enjoy them, not to condemn them,” Dixon says.

Kerianne Carlton, another voice performance master’s candidate, will play Susanna, the countess’ maid, Figaro’s fiancée and the object of the count’s desire. Like Dixon, Carlton, originally from West Bend, is bringing her knowledge of human relations to bear on creating “nozze.”

“The relationship between Susanna and Figaro is very modern,” she says. “They each have their characteristics that drive each other crazy, yet they depend on and support each other. As in modern relationships, for example, Susanna tries to avoid an unnecessary argument by keeping the Count’s advances a secret from Figaro. She knows that he would do something irrational if he knew.”

The University Opera will show how the characters in “Le nozze di Figaro” learn their “lessons” — or not — as it presents the opera on Friday, March 3, Sunday, March 5, and Tuesday, March 7, in Music Hall. On March 3 and 7, the opera begins at 7:30 p.m. The performance on March 5 will be a matinee at 3 p.m. All will be sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Tickets, $18 general/$10 UW–Madison students with ID, are available through the Vilas Hall Box Office, 262-1500. The Music Hall box office will sell remaining tickets the day of the performance, one hour before curtain.