Pictured from left to right: Haeran Hong (Susanna/Figaro), Emily Schnexnaydre (Rona/Spelling Bee), Paul An (Antonio/Figaro).
Rehearsals for The Princeton Festival’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” are underway in preparation for the opening of the Broadway musical on June 12 and Mozart’s opera on June 13. Artists from the worlds of opera and musical comedy gathered together briefly in a “Meet and Greet” morning coffee on May 18, 2015 before going off to their respective first rehearsals.
Bringing the opera to life is the subject of an Artists Round Table presented by The Princeton Festival Guild on Wednesday, May 27. The artists and production staff of “The Marriage of Figaro” will interrupt rehearsals to discuss how they develop their roles, interpretations and staging of the opera. Marian Burleigh-Motley of the Metropolitan Museum of Art will moderate the one hour forum. This free event will take place in Scheide Hall at Princeton Theological Seminary at 7 p.m.
Winner of two 2005 Tony awards, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” tells the tale of six quirky middle-schoolers anxiously competing for spelling glory. Vice-principal Panch is played by Patrick James, familiar to Festival audiences from his roles in “Once Upon a Mattress” and “The Boy Friend.” He is joined by a young and sparkling cast under the direction of Melissa Firlet. For those who want to know more about “Spelling Bee,” the co-director of the world premiere, Michael Unger, will speak of the show’s origin and development at Princeton Art Museum on June 16 at 7pm. There will be ten performances of the Festival’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at 185 Nassau Street, Princeton, on June 12, 18,19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 at 8 p.m., and on June 14, 21, 28 at 4 p.m.
Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” was first produced in 1786 and is still one of the world’s most popular and revered operas. Bringing to life this turbulent wedding day is a cast of singers from the Metropolitan and leading regional opera companies. Richard Tang Yuk is the conductor and Steven LaCosse the director, the team which has led many of the Festival’s productions including “The Flying Dutchman” and last year’s “Porgy and Bess.” “Figaro” opens on Saturday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the McCarter Theatre, with 3 p.m. matinees on Sunday, June 21 and June 28.
For more information and a link to ticket sales visit princetonfestival.org. To purchase tickets by phone, call McCarter Theatre at (609) 258-2787.
