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App Opera Theatre Presents ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ March 26-29 at Schaefer Center

Jacob Cook plays Figaro and Mary Royall Hight plays Susanna in “The Marriage of Figaro” to be performed at Appalachian State University. Photo by Ashlynn Doyle.
Jacob Cook plays Figaro and Mary Royall Hight plays Susanna in “The Marriage of Figaro” to be performed at Appalachian State University. Photo by Ashlynn Doyle.

The Appalachian Opera Theatre will present Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” March 26-28 at 8 p.m. and March 29 at 2 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students and available at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts.

In Mozart’s comic opera about love, Figaro has borrowed money from the Count’s housekeeper with the promise to marry her if he doesn’t repay the debt on the agreed upon deadline. However, Figaro is in love with the Countess’s chambermaid. A battle of wits occurs when Figaro and the Count both vie for the chambermaid’s affections.

The Appalachian Opera Theatre is directed by John Fowler. He said the opera normally takes four hours to perform, but by cutting the “recitative,” it has been shortened to about two hours.

The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles, which are translations of the lyrics projected on a screen. “We tried to modernize Mozart so that people can understand it better and story will be a little tighter,” Fowler said.

Soloists are students from the Hayes School of Music. They will be accompanied by the Appalachian Opera Orchestra directed by Chung Park.

Mozart’s comic opera “The Marriage of Figaro” is being performed by the Appalachian Opera Theater at Appalachian State University. Among the singers are Rachel Coffer, seated left, and Sarah Cave, and Quentin Lee, top left, Sarah Swann, Mary Royall Hight and Jacob Cook. Photo by Ashlynn Doyle
Mozart’s comic opera “The Marriage of Figaro” is being performed by the Appalachian Opera Theater at Appalachian State University. Among the singers are Rachel Coffer, seated left, and Sarah Cave, and Quentin Lee, top left, Sarah Swann, Mary Royall Hight and Jacob Cook. Photo by Ashlynn Doyle
Morgan Prince sings the role of Bartolo and Farren Hilliard sings the role of Marcellina in the Appalachian Opera Theatre production of “The Marriage of Figaro.” Photo by Ashlynn Doyle
Morgan Prince sings the role of Bartolo and Farren Hilliard sings the role of Marcellina in the Appalachian Opera Theatre production of “The Marriage of Figaro.” Photo by Ashlynn Doyle