Opera San Luis Obispo Presents The Barber of Seville, April 1 & 3

Break into a strain of “Figaro! Figaro! Figaro” and listeners will immediately recognize a refrain from The Barber of Seville.  This opera features familiar music and comedic antics, beloved by many and even parodied in at least five different cartoons including Bugs Bunny in the Rabbit of Seville, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy Dog, and the dog Spike from the Tom & Jerry cartoons.

Figaro is the barber of Seville, and he repeats his name with gusto, telling the assembled crowd of his popularity and skill. A man of many talents, including matchmaking, Figaro helps young Count Almaviva woo the lovely maiden Rosina. But the couple must avoid her guardian, the wealthy Doctor Bartolo who wants to marry Rosina himself. Many disguises, letters, false names, and general mischief create a lively and entertaining operatic romp.

Opera San Luis Obispo (formerly Pacific Repertory Opera) presents The Barber of Seville, Rossini's fabulous masterpiece featuring great singing and comedy with madcap chases and trickery. Presented with a full orchestra, costumes and sets, the opera is sung in the original Italian with projected supertitle translations of the words as they are sung.

Figaro is portrayed by returning audience favorite, Roberto Perlas Gomez (see image above); Count Almaviva by Chester Pidduck, who returns from New York City where he performs with The Metropolitan Opera chorus; and rising star Kindra Scharich, (Broadway by the Sea), makes her OperaSLO mainstage debut, appearing as the maiden Rosina pursued by the Count.

Gomez has sung the role of Figaro around the world, and appeared as the title role in OperaSLO's production of Red Cloud in 2004, in Tosca and Don Giovanni in 2005, and in the One Quarter, One Love 25th Anniversary Gala concert in 2010.  Pidduck portrayed Rodolfo in OperaSLO's 2010 production of La boheme, and was onscreen for The Met: Live in HD simulcast of Boris Godunov in October 2010.

The Barber of Seville is Gioacchino Rossini's most popular opera.  It is a prequel to The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart's great opera from the previous century. The characters in Barber continue their story in Figaro. In fact, the Barber of Rossini's opera is Figaro — pre-marriage.

It was first presented in Rome in 1816, based on a spoken word play by Beaumarchais, and had already been made into an opera by another composer. Unfortunately, fans of the first operatic version staged a protest and Rossini's first performance had several mishaps, including a singer who tripped and bloodied his nose, broken prop guitar strings and a wayward cat onstage. However, the music and story prevailed and it has become one of the most popular comic operas of all time.  It was one of the earliest Italian operas to be performed in America in 1825.

The Barber of Seville appears at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo on Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 3 at 2:00 p.m.  Pre-curtain highlights by Maestro Robert Ashens provide a lively twenty-minute romp through the evening's offering -- one hour prior to curtain.  The Maestro enthralls the audience at the piano and includes descriptive anecdotes on special points in the upcoming opera.  This enlightening talk is suitable for novice and expert, alike.
Tickets are on-sale now from $25-$65 through the PAC website at or by phone at 805-756-2787 or toll free 888-233-2787.  Students are half price with valid ID.  For more information, please contact the Opera office at (805) 541-5369 or visit Opera SLO.org                                    

Photo of Roberto Gomez on Stage courtesy Eleakis Photography and Sacramento Opera