Opera novices may need a few notes ahead of time if they plan to attend the University of Maine School of Performing Arts’ production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” which will open tonight at Hauck Auditorium on the UM campus.

First, the famous “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!” aria (“Largo al factotum,” to be exact) is actually from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” a sequel of sorts to “Figaro.”

Second, no marriage takes place during the show. Lots of intrigue, betrayal and hanky-panky, but no marriage.

Third, “Figaro” is one of the funniest, most accessible operas a beginner can take in. And that’s why director and theater professor Tom Mikotowicz chose it as the first opera production for UMaine in twelve years (the last was Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” in 1996).

Despite strides in recent decades, opera’s not exactly popular among twentysomethings. It took a little persuasion to get both theater and music students to sign on for the show, which has been in rehearsal for nearly six months.

“I honestly really had to sell it to them. Opera’s a very different creature from musical theatre,” said Mikotowicz. “Now the music students say, ‘Why aren’t we doing more opera?’ and the theater students say, ‘I didn’t know opera was so fun!'”

Involving 28 singers and dancers, an orchestra of 35 and nearly 40 other students, it’s a big production, from the strikingly minimal sets, created by professional scenic designer Laura McPherson, to the lush, elaborate period costumes, on loan from Malabar Ltd., a costume company from Canada.

“It’s a monster of a production,” Mikotowicz said. “It’s a challenge on many levels. It’s really one of the great operas of all time. It is daunting. But Figaro is essentially a comic character. It’s very accessible to audiences. Comedy translates easier.”

It’s a big story, too, with a convoluted, twisting plot that puts any modern-day soap opera to shame (thankfully, it will be performed in English, with subtitles projected on the walls of the theatre). “Figaro” recounts a single day in the court of the Count Almaviva. The count’s valet, Figaro (played by Seth Grondin), and his bride-to-be, the countess’ maid Susanna, attempt to stop the lecherous count from exercising his feudal right to sleep with his servant before her wedding night.

Jason Wilkes, a senior vocal performance major from Bangor, plays the count, in a role that’s been a stretch for both his voice and his temperament.

“He’s totally a sleazeball,” said Wilkes. “In real life, I’m the opposite person. I’ve had so much fun with it, getting into the creepy, sexual side of the character.”

While Wilkes is the only performer to play the count, several roles in “Figaro” have been simulcast. These include the lovelorn countess (Jesse Hanington and Tina Burns), the count’s girl-crazy page Cherubino (a role that calls for a female performer, or “breeches” role, played by Brinee Martin and Whitney Blethen), and the smart, mischievous Susanna (Maria Talbot and Rebecca Bailey). At certain points, both actors for each role appear onstage at the same time, lending a slightly post-modern feel to the proceedings.

“We wanted to give as many students as possible a chance to perform,” said Mikotowicz. “And the idea of having two onstage at the same time appeals to my aesthetics. And that post-modern aesthetic is reflected in the sets, which are inspired by the great works of modern art, like Mark Rothko.”

More so than most School of Performing Arts productions, “Figaro” is a truly collaborative effort, bringing theater, dance and music students together very closely.

“That’s something we’ve been striving for – to have theater and dance and vocal and art students all working together,” said Bailey, a senior theater major who is one of the two Susannas. “This has been more collaborative than anything else we’ve done. It’s beneficial for all the arts departments. It’s been wonderful to work with so many different people.”

“It’s an educational production,” said Mikotowicz. “And it’s such a plus for students to be given such a difficult task, and rise to the challenge, and to work with such top notch people. They’re going to leave here with ‘Figaro’ as a credit.”

Though it’s very funny, “Figaro” goes far beyond simple comedy, as the social and emotional resonance of the opera, based on the 1784 French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, reveals itself over the course of the four acts.

“Napoleon was quoted as saying, ‘This is the damn play that started the revolution.’ It’s a play about the servants turning the tables on the aristocracy,” observed Mikotowitz. “And I think it resonates with our contemporary situation. At no point in our history has the gap between rich and poor been so wide. It works on lots of levels, and has lots of intellectual dimensions. It’s a masterwork, but it’s still very much pertinent.”

To that end, “Figaro” was designated a class opera for the 2007-2008 school year at UMaine. Not only the basis for many music and theater classes at the college, “Figaro” found its way into the curriculum in several liberal arts classes, where the philosophy and history of revolution-era Europe were studied.

Appropriately for the day after Valentine’s Day, “Figaro” is also about love, and the trials it withstands.

“Somebody once said that all of Mozart’s operas are about forgiveness,” said music director Lud Hallman, a music professor at UM. “And at the end, the count asks forgiveness of the countess. And she gives it.”

There’s lots of love to go around. After all, it’s one of the greatest operas of all time. For both Susanna and for the students involved, it’s easy to fall in love with “Figaro.”

“I know I have fallen in love with it,” said Wilkes. “It’s timeless. The music will be with me forever.”

“The Marriage of Figaro” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15-16 and Feb. 22-23, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 and 24 at Hauck Auditorium on the UM campus. Tickets are $12 and are available at the door, or by calling 581-1755.

eburnham@bangordailynews.net

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