Park City Opera Stages The Barber of Seville
Sarah Neal sings with Park City Opera at Park Meadows Country Club
For the last 6 months local nonprofit Park City Opera has been singing, scoring, and scheming up something big: a production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville! Even if you’ve never seen a production of Barber, you’ve probably already heard its music, which has been featured in cartoons such as Bugs Bunny and in feature films like Mrs. Doubtfire. According to Park City Opera, the plot of Barber follows “the young (and handsome) Count of Seville, Almaviva, who has fallen head over heels for a woman he barely knows. Disguising himself as a poor student, he learns that she’s Rosina, the spirited ward of the nefarious Bartolo—an old man intent on marrying her. He keeps her locked away, confining her under the guise of “protection.” Almaviva hatches a plan with Figaro, Seville’s favorite and most clever barber, to sneak into Bartolo’s house and win Rosina’s hand. Hijinx, costumes, mistaken identities, wayward love letters, and more ensue.”
Barber will be the first full-scale opera Park City has hosted in over 20 years, and will feature over 30 artists from across the country, including Jake Stamatis in the role of the titular barber Figaro. “I am from a community that does not have opera in it, in my small town of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania,” says Stamatis. “So it really means a lot to me to be able to help bring opera back to Park City in such a great way.”
Mark Covey-Barrera sings and plays classical guitar with Park City Opera at Park Meadows Country Club
Sarah Neal plays Rosina, Bartolo’s ward and love interest of Count Almaviva. “The vocalism in Rosina’s music lets the singer use every part of their voice—from the lowest depths to the highest range, which not every mezzo-soprano role has. In terms of her character, Rosina is everything from wily to bratty to ingenious, and it is so fulfilling to dig into her many sides.” Neal praises the nascent local opera scene, saying “Park City Opera has been beyond welcoming, and the artistic staff has fostered a collaborative, comfortable rehearsal environment, which is not a given in the opera industry. But the singing and musical direction is as nuanced and masterful as at any major opera house!”
Jordan Costa, who plays Count Almaviva, has some words of reassurance for the opera-wary who hesitate at the thought of attending Barber. “It’s literally the perfect first opera in my opinion. If you’re nervous about going to an opera, you probably already know half the score. You’ll get to know these characters and then you’ll see them pop up in other famous works like The Marriage of Figaro or The Ghosts of Versailles. It’s a lot of fun, it moves fast, and it’s just timeless for a reason.”
The comedic aspect of Barber is one that delights the performers. “It is such a treat to perform the role of Rosina not only because of her thrilling vocal writing, but her cleverness and agency that shines throughout the opera,” says Neal. “It is also my first lead in a comic opera, which is a ton of fun!” As Stamatis puts it,“I’m a big fan of comedy…I think having an awareness of timing is very important with comedy, and I mean, this opera makes it so easy because the composer has made the comedic timing so obvious, so Figaro almost sort of does himself in a way, as far as comedy goes, but it's a timeless character. The jokes are all in there, so as long as I do my job right, it’s gonna come across and people are gonna love it.”
Jordan Costa sings with Park City Opera at Park City Gardens
The comedic nature of Barber affords Costa the opportunity to step outside of typical romance conventions. “My favorite part about singing the Count is that I get to play a bunch of parts. Normally, if you’re the…romantic lead, you just get locked into sweet, sincere puppy dog, but the Count is also the belligerent soldier and also the eccentric voice teacher, which we all know one of those, and it's just fun to get to play and do something farcical with also these moments to ground it in something more sincere.”
Park City Opera’s Co-Founder and Development Director Lisl Wangermann knows bringing opera back to Park City is no small feat. “This production has been such a team effort––everyone has brought their best to this project, and I feel so grateful for such talented and hardworking collaborators. We have been putting this production together over the course of the last six months, and after all of that prep work, it has been so amazing to finally get to see it come to life on stage. Opera combines so many arts into one big project, so every audience member can find something to enjoy! I hope that Park City makes opera part of their cultural routine and finds something to love about it.”
The Barber of Seville will open August 24th at 2pm at the Santy Auditorium. Additional performances will be held August 29th and 30th at 7pm at Premiere Park City, and To learn more about Park City Opera and to book your tickets, follow their instagram or head over to the website.