CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Continuing its 49th season, Charlottesville Opera will once again be bringing an opera classic to The Paramount Theater later this week.
The company’s production of the classic Italian opera “The Barber of Seville” will be performed on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The company has once again brought in performers and cast members from all over to perform the iconic production, which features a number of iconic songs including the classic “Largo al factotum.”
“If you’ve seen Bugs Bunny at any point, you’ve heard a lot of the music from Barber of Seville,” director Kyle Lang told Cville Right Now.
This is Lang’s second time working with Charlottesville Opera, and he, like many other members of the cast and crew, has often traveled to different opera companies around the country. Lang himself grew up in Louisiana and currently lives in San Diego.
Another cast member who traveled to perform in Charlottesville is Dennis Jesse, who plays Dr. Bartolo. Jesse is currently a Professor of Vocal Studies at Louisiana State University and the manager of the LSU Opera Productions.
This is Jesse’s 35th year as a professional opera singer, during which he has traveled in every state in the U.S. and also taught in Italy and Brazil. He also served as director of Charlottesville Opera’s educational program the past two seasons.
Jesse told Cville Right Now he returned to Charlottesville not only because of his close relationship to Charlottesville Opera general director, Dr. Leanne Clement, but also because it is first and foremost “a beautiful town.”
While this is far from the first time Jesse has performed in “Barber of Seville,” having played the role of Figaro, the barber, early in his career, this will be Lang’s first time working on the show.
The show, which will be performed in Italian with English subtitles, is a comedy centered around Figaro helping Count Almaviva win the heart of Rosina with plenty of costumes, deception and mischief.
Even over two centuries since its premiere, Lang said he believes the show still resonates audiences due to the human emotion at its core.
“It kind of goes back to the basic, basic emotions, basic feelings,” he said. “And the feeling of want and desire. The feeling of happiness and joy. The feeling of how you feel when you’re fooled, when you have played into a trap. These are things that still happen today.”
In addition to a full orchestra and experienced cast, the show also features a large, dollhouse-like set that opens up during the show and also features an accessible second floor. Lang said the design was inspired by how Rosina is kept by Dr. Bartolo during the show, viewing her almost like an object.
“The point of marrying her is to get her money,” Lang said of Bartolo’s motivations. “But we talked about how she’s kind of kept, and then we kind of came up with this idea of the dollhouse and that the walls open to reveal the inside of the house.”
All of this will come together this week, continuing Charlottesville Opera’s tradition of providing the community with this often-misunderstood art form.
“To be honest with you, people are afraid of opera. Like, my parents were afraid of opera,” Jesse said. “When they come and they get into the theater, they love it.”
