Raylynmor, the Monadnock Opera Company, will present “All Things Figaro,” a concert of the songs from the Figaro trio of operas, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at Bass Hall in Peterborough.
“The Figaro operas are probably the most often performed operas in the world, and they include some of the most well known songs in opera,” said Raylynmor Artistic Director Ben Robinson. “To be able to hear these voices and this music in Bass Hall in such close range, in a way that is just so accessible, it is nothing short of thrilling.”
Robinson says that “for better or for worse, everyone knows Figaro.”
“Literally everyone knows the ‘Figaro’ aria from the Loony Tunes opera, ‘The Rabbit of Seville.’ it may be the best known aria in all of opera; you had a whole generation growing up with that,” Robinson said. “If someone is just learning about opera, that is always something that is familiar, and it’s just so beautiful. The Figaro aria will be the culmination of the concert.”
The concert is a preview of the Raylynmor’s upcoming production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” which will be performed in June 2026 at the Redfern Arts Center in Keene.
“We try to have these preview concerts to get everyone excited about what we have coming up, and this concert will include excerpts from all the Figaro operas,” Robinson said.
At Sunday’s concert, Bernardo Medeiros will be singing the songs of the character Figaro.
Medeiros, a noted Brazilian-American baritone, has performed at opera companies around the country, most recently with the Pensacola Opera Company.
Italian-American mezzo-soprano Felicia Gavilanes, who performs with the Boston Lyric Opera and the Boston Modern Opera Project, will sing the parts of Rosina, Susanna and Cherubino.
Pianist Brendon Shapiro, who is on the staff of the Boston Lyric Opera and recently performed with the Los Angeles Opera and San Francisco Opera, will accompany Medeiros and Gavilanes.
“We’re so excited to have these two really fascinating and interesting singers, who are both new to Raylynmor, and we are really excited to have Brendon Shapiro back with us. He is becoming more of a familiar face in New Hampshire,” Robinson said.
Robinson says that even for people who may not be familiar with “Figaro,” the premise and storyline will resonate.
“What was revolutionary about these three plays, which were written in the 1700s, is that they depicted the real lives of the serving class intermixing with the aristocracy,” Robinson said. “No one had ever done that before. If you watch ‘Downton Abbey’ or anything like that, ‘Figaro’ was the original forerunner.”
The three plays about Figaro, “The Barber of Seville”, “The Marriage of Figaro” and “The Guilty Mother,” were written by Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais around the time of the American Revolution.
“These plays have inspired the greatest operas ever written,” Robinson said. “The first two are these lush, beautiful works by Mozart and Rossini, while the third is not as well known, and just not as beautiful, although there have been some attempts to make it into opera.”
“All Things Figaro” will include some of the best known songs from each opera.
For tickets or more information, go to www.raylynmor.com/all-things-figaro.
