Knoxville Opera began its life at the Bijou Theatre in 1978 as the Knoxville Civic Opera. Returning to its birthplace this weekend, the company triumphed there to wrap up its 2022-23 season with a production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro).
Scheduling issues with its regular venue, the larger Tennessee Theatre, brought KO once again to the Bijou, although the change was not without a fair number of compromises. In addition to seating capacity, the Bijou’s physical stage, orchestra pit, and backstage space are much smaller than the Tennessee’s and its technical amenities more limited. As a result, the stunning set by Jefferson Ridenour, acquired from Opera Delaware from a 2022 production, fit snuggly—but the orchestra was forced out of the too-small pit and onto the rear of the stage, behind the set. Of course, this opened several cans of theatrical staging worms, including the need to mic the orchestra and provide monitors for the singers to see the conductor. What didn’t change was the Bijou’s beautifully intimate acoustics for the singers, which they availed themselves of with obvious pleasure.
Despite the staging compromises, this production of The Marriage of Figaro was a hands-down, solid triumph for Knoxville Opera. Directed by Eve Summer, the staging embraced the energetic, madcap scenario that Mozart and his librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, created in 1786 from the Pierre Beaumarchais’ play of the same name. Leading the orchestra (Knoxville Symphony Orchestra) from the “harpsichord” upstage was conductor Laurie Rogers. Her pacing was beautifully consistent, providing a springboard for the comedy and the dramatic flow of entrances and exits. Clearly, Rogers and Summer deserve kudos for this production’s energy and comic sparkle.
Feeding off of Rogers and Summer, the diverse cast was as uniformly strong as one could hope for—certainly in regional opera—both in comic performances, clean diction, and in making use of Mozart’s brilliant melodic gifts to singers. Clearly, this cast includes singers whose careers were abruptly interrupted by the Covid shutdown, but are thankfully getting the opportunity to make up for lost time.
A true delight here was soprano Flora Hawk in the role of Susanna, maid to the Countess Almaviva and the intended of Figaro. Hawk’s voice was intensely attractive and descriptive, and she sold her feisty character with a smile-inducing stage presence and a wealth of comic subtleties.
Figaro of the title was sung by baritone Nicholas Davis, a substantial vocal presence on stage with the ability to articulate the simplest of lines to his benefit and naturally create a character.
Another delight in this production was Eliza Bonet in the pants role of Cherubino. Armed with substantial ability for physical comedy, she brightened every scene she was in, using her beautifully controlled voice clarity to paint a vivid character.
One was naturally drawn to bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba in the role of Count Almaviva. His rich voice bristled with power as he showed his exasperation at being tricked and romantically twisted by the comic ebb and flow of Susanna and his wife, the Countess. The Countess, looking for a return to happiness in love, was sung by soprano Bizhou Chang.
Of course, the roles of Marcellina and Dr. Bartolo have a sneaky little secret which is revealed with a snigger or two. Those characters were delivered by Lisa Chavez and Zizhao Wang, respectively. Jason Ferrante took the role of Basilio and gave it a marvelous and mischievous character presence.
One of our favorite local singers is baritone Jacob Lay, taking the role here of the gardener, Antonio. Lay opens eyes with his rich voice and manages to create substantial characters even in smaller roles. We also look forward to hearing more from soprano Teyah Young, who sang the role of Barbarina.
Knoxville Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro has one more performance on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 PM at the Bijou Theatre. Like the Friday evening one, this performance has been listed as SOLD OUT. Check at the box office before the show for any availability.
