Something Free This Way Comes - The Kennedy Center’s “Digital Stage” offers an impressive number and variety of online videos for free; these present a wide range of the performing arts, including Washington National Opera productions. There is also a more exclusive collection of videos under the label “Digital Stage+”, available only to members, subscribers, and donors. Washington National Opera has announced plans to stream a series of its popular “Opera in the Outfield” productions for free. These broadcasts to the big screen at Washington Nationals Park have been presented annually; had the coronavirus not shut down the Opera House and excluded fans from inside the stadium, last year would have been the 13th season for these showings. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, performed by Washington National Opera in 2016 and also shown that year as an Opera in the Outfield broadcast, has been available until now only through Digital Stage+, which required a membership to view. However, from April 14 through April 21, Figaro is being streamed for free on Digital Stage+ as well as on YouTube. WNO anticipates following up this offering with additional “Opera in the Outfield” rebroadcasts, including Verdi’s Aida and Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Joshua Hopkins as Count Almavira, Lisette Oropesa as Susanna, and Amanda Majeski as Countess Almavira in WNO’s 2016 The Marriage of Figaro. Photo by Scott Suchman for WNO; photo courtesy of WNO.
I did not see The Marriage of Figaro at the ballpark, but I did see it opening night at the Kennedy Center in 2016; you can read my report at this link. I thought this was a light-hearted and highly enjoyable production with a strong young cast and colorful period costumes that contributed to the fun. It is a fine cast all around, but watch and see which singer steals the show. The major players (Joshua Hopkins, Amanda Majeski, Ryan McKinney, Lisette Oropesa, and Aleksandra Romano) have all gone on to stellar careers in the major opera halls within the US and abroad, and you get to see them early in their careers in this production. In particular, current divas soprano Lisette Oropesa and soprano Amanda Majeski are worth noting; check out their duet at the 2:05 mark in the video, and an earlier solo by Ms. Majeski at about the 1:59 mark, for sheer beauty. One amazing ability of Mozart is writing vocals for ensembles; in Figaro, they range from duets to septets, with the singers singing different sentiments at the same time – sheer fun.
The plot follows further the entanglements of Figaro (Ryan McKinney), Rosina (Amanda Majeski), and Count Almavira (Joshua Hopkins), all characters seen in the Barber of Seville by Rossini. Almavira has now made Rosina his Countess and Figaro, his servant, has a fiancé, Susanna (Lisette Oropesa). Almavira is now trying to use his position to seduce Susanna and at the same time, he is upset that the Countess has been spending too much time with a Page (Aleksandra Romano in a pants role). Librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (both operas were based on plays by Beaumarchais) has the characters all plotting to get their own way, leading to one amusing encounter after another, until at last, true love sets everything right. A fun advantage of video is that you will get to see close up views of the performers that you would not get seated in the Opera House.
Of course, the star of any production of The Marriage of Figaro is Mozart’s marvelous music. You will be whistling or humming the melodies for the next week at least. This is a good video of a good production of a great opera. It is one to enjoy again and remember why you love opera; it is also a good opera to engage your friends and neighbors who haven’t seen opera before; of course, even better to see it again in an opera house when that is again possible. But for now, this Opera in the Outfield rebroadcast is a spirit raiser.
Speaking of which, I am eagerly awaiting Washington National Opera’s announcement of its 2021-2022 season, likely coming in May, and hopefully we will be returning to the KC Opera House to see live, staged operas once more.
The Fan Experience: The Marriage of Figaro is streaming now through April 21 at this WNO link (complete credits are listed at the bottom of the linked page). The video can also be accessed directly on YouTube.com at this link; it will also be your first hit if you enter “Washington National Opera Marriage of Figaro” in the YouTube.com search bar. There is a lot going on in The Marriage of Figaro; if you get lost, pause the video and refer to a plot summary, like this one from NPR.
The video of this four act opera is almost three hours, and the performance is broken into two segments with no other material offered between the sections, a good time to pause the video for snacks and bathroom breaks. The video and sound quality are good; one of the advantages of video is that you control the volume. Subtitles in English for the libretto sung in Italian appear on the bottom of the screen.
The best way to be alerted when future Opera in the Outfield broadcasts will be available is to get on the Kennedy Center mailing list by signing up as a member (lowest level is $75), or visit WNO’s Facebook page or their Twitter feed, or all three.
Membership info: https://www.kennedy-center.org/Support/membership/join/
WNO Facebook page; FB login required: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=washington%20national%20opera
WNO Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/WashNatOpera