Usually, the consummation of a marriage is between a bride and groom, but a hilarious rendition of a Mozart classic is retelling how things were a bit different in early modern Europe.
DragonDiva, a New Westminster-based theatre company, is taking on the prolific composer’s The Marriage of Figaro, a comic opera about the wedding of a maid and butler whose master is sort of a third wheel.
“It’s actually a very complicated plot – it centres around a count and countess and their personal servants, Figaro and Susanna,” said music director John Arsenault. “Essentially, because of an old law, the master of the house had the right to sleep with the bride on her wedding night, so the count wants to do this with Susanna.”
But, seeing as this is a comedy, nothing goes according to plan for the count as Susanna and Figaro do everything they can to trick him.
While the four-act theatre production has stood the test of time for more than 225 years, Arsenault wanted to put his own spin on the classic tale. Instead of setting it in 1700s Europe where it originated, he decided to set it in India without any particular timeframe.
“We’ve always done things with a bit of a twist,” he said, referencing DragonDiva’s 2011 steampunk version of H.M.S. Pinafore. “We wanted to do something a little different, rather than what all the other opera companies we’re doing.”
While it’s not necessarily set in modern day India, part of the reason for changing the location was because of the country’s class system.
“This opera is partially about the difference between the classes,” said Arsenault. “When this opera was first performed in France, it caused quite a stir with the aristocracy – they were quite upset that this opera showed the servants outwitting and outsmarting their aristocratic bosses.”
“It’s a beautiful story and a lot of the scenes are sort of timeless, but it would never happen today in a lot of parts of the world. But India’s a place still in our modern world where classes very much exist.”
The opera is set over the course of a single day, but it’s still a lengthy production. The show contains more than 20 songs and runs about two and a half hours.
“The Act 2 finale itself is about 40 minutes long,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a very, very long opera.”
The opera stars Henry Chen as Figaro and Katrin Pömmerl as Susanna, with many other actors making up the 15-member cast.
The show opened in Vancouver with two shows at Yaletown’s Roundhouse Community Centre last weekend. They also have three shows at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre, with two 8 p.m. performances on Aug. 22 and 23, and a 2 p.m. matinée on Aug. 24.
Tickets are $25 and are available at the door or online at dragondiva.org/upcoming.
