The Barber of Seville’s plot involves theamorous adventures of a young count as he seeks to win the lovely Rosina,“protected” by her ward, Dr. Bartolo (who has nefarious plans of his own). It’sthe first in a trilogy of Figaro plays by the French dramatist Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, andthe Skylight Opera Theatre isperforming two of them this season. As Kristin Godfrey explains, “We are doingboth Barber and (Mozart’s) Figaro with the same director anddesign team so they are very consciously paying attention to the year of thefirst show (Barber, set in 1785). The design for the second show (Figaro)will be what it would have looked like 10 years later, as in the story.”
SkylightOpera Theatreopens its season with Rossini’s Barber ofSeville (in an English version by George Mead) at the Broadway Theatre Center from Sept. 18through Oct. 4.