Figaro Figaro Figaro

Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata ( The Marriage of Figaro, or the Day of Madness), is one of the ten most performed operas in the United States. It falls just behind The Barber of Seville, in timeline and popularity; however, it’s the ideal premiere for the San Francisco Parlor Opera, which performs opera in private homes for small audiences craving a libretto in its original tongue. Le Nozze di Figaro unfolds over the course of a single day at a single location, albeit the grounds of a Spanish palace. Tonight, a historic local home built in 1893 stands in for the late-18th-century domicile of Count Almaviva of Seville. Very little imagination is necessary, as the action moves from the attic to the parlor to the beautiful back garden of this lavish Victorian. Happily, you need not be gentry to attend, nor must you be fluent in Italian. Chuck Taylors are as welcome as tuxedos, and an English narration precedes each act.
Thu., May 22, 7 p.m.; Sat., May 24, 7 p.m., 2008