One of opera’s most beloved and well-known shows, “The Marriage of Figaro,” is coming to the Peterborough Town House this weekend.
The show is a collaboration between the Monadnock region’s own opera company, Raylynmor, and the Keene Chamber Orchestra. “Figaro” will be directed by internationally acclaimed Giovanni Reggioli.
“This is the first show I was ever exposed to as a student, and it is the show that made me love opera,” said Ben Robinson, artistic director of the Raylynmor Opera. “It’s one of my favorite shows; it has come back into my life time and time again, and it’s just perfect for New Hampshire.”
“The Marriage of Figaro,” composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is one of the most often performed operas in the world, and includes some of the most well-known songs in opera.
“For better or for worse, literally everyone knows ‘Figaro’ from the ‘Looney Tunes’ opera, ‘The Rabbit of Seville.’ It may be the best-known aria in all of opera, and you had a whole generation growing up with that,” Robinson said. “If someone is just learning about opera, Figaro is always something that is familiar.”
The cast includes Spencer Reichman as Count Almaviva, Andrea Baker as Countess Almaviva, Kayla Oderah as Susannah, Joseph Canuto Leon as Figaro, and Sarah Coit as Cherubino.
“We have a really tremendous cast. It’s exciting because a lot of the cast are singing these roles for the first time with this opera,” Robinson said. “They are an exceptional group of people; they all have credits from across the country.”
According to Robinson, Raylynmor Opera has a tradition of letting singers debut new roles.
“We kind of specialize in having people singing roles for the first time. We like letting people do things for the first time; letting people try out new things, and being able to have that really fun experience,” Robinson said. “Trying on a new role is like trying on a ball gown for the first time — you don’t want the event to be the very first time you try it on, but we have this incredible audience who are very supportive of artists at all levels.”
Rehearsals for the show started just two weeks ago.
“None of this is for the faint of heart,” Robinson said. “Our rehearsal time is a little shorter than some places, but they are all professionals.”
Robinson says Raylynmor has “an amazing ecosystem” of people who host visiting artists, enabling the company to bring in extraordinary talent.
“We are bringing people in from around the country, and people kindly open their homes to them,” Robinson said. “It is always a balance between doing something really exciting and stewarding our resources with integrity for the future of the company.”
Robinson says the show is a “labor of love” for the cast.
“People have to be able to justify traveling, and a lot of the artists are moonlighting while they are here. It’s truly a labor of love, and it is a magic too. What I find special it people are giving so much of themselves to be part of it. They would make more in Boston or New York, but they are here because they want to make something really special happen in New Hampshire,” he said. “It is going to be an amazing show.”
