Were it not for his period style dress and the magical Mozart score, one might mistake Bass Wm. Clay Thompson for Rex Harrison playing Sir Henry Higgins in the musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Thompson as Figaro, and Harrison as Higgins, are singing from the same misogynist hymnal. To trust women is folly, sings Thompson, who strides from the stage into the audience to passionately urge men to open their eyes and stop being stupid. "See women for the inconstant sirens that they are”— to paraphrase.
As Thompson as Figaro makes his foray into the first rows we hear nervous titters and also feel the delighted excitement rippling throughout the theater. It’s but one moment of many when you too might be thinking— Mozart’s musical masterpiece is in good hands here with North Carolina Opera.
Much like a Shakespearean tale, there are many characters assuming disguises and sometimes doing gender switches to avoid trouble or make trouble. Figaro’s boss and nemesis, lascivious Count Almaviva (baritone Theo Hoffman), is trying to bed Figaro’s betrothed, Susanna, performed by soprano Cadie J. Bryan. The long suffering Countess Almaviva, performed by sweet-singing soprano Kathryn Henry, is central to arranging her cheating husband’s comeuppance at the opera’s conclusion. Subplots aplenty give us characters hiding in closets, parents discovering their long lost love child, army dodgers, and more. Bravo to Director Chas Rader-Shieber to keep us super engaged throughout the performance, and able to follow the considerable twists and turns in the plot.
North Carolina Opera Gives the Iconic Opera its Due
With just the very first notes of the famed overture, Conductor Aaron Breid’s baton seems to be an exclamation mark on Mozart’s score. If you know the opera but don’t know it by heart, you too will likely marvel at how much of the score you’ve heard in every compilation of opera’s greatest hits. It’s not unlike getting those happy pangs of recognition you feel at hearing one or another famous Shakespearean aphorism in a play you know a bit but not thoroughly. Floral motifs, and especially the super-sized ones in the finale garden scene, imbue the opera with playfulness.
There is much talent on the stage. Thompson as the titular Figaro, and soprano Cadie J.Bryan as Figaro’s betrothed Susanna, are especially magnetic, in this reviewer’s opinion. They both have physical acting skills that enliven their performance, complementing their especially clarion voices that fill the hall.
In this reviewer’s opinion, North Carolina Opera’s production has appeal for both opera diehards and relatively newbies to the opera genre.
If you’ve seen many operas in venues large and small, you will likely be impressed by the diversity of the audience— all ages and styles from hipster to grand dame. Take note opera world—-North Carolina Opera Company is doing something very right.
RECOMMENDED
For information on upcoming performances, visit the North Carolina Opera website.
Click here to read more Picture This Post North Carolina Opera stories.
Photos by Eric Waters
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
