Skylight’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ is a marriage made in opera heaven

Skylight Opera Theatre has much to celebrate these days. The current season marks its 50th anniversary. It’s survived more drama offstage this past summer only to return stronger and thriving. And its current production of “The Marriage of Figaro” is pure delight in sight and sound.

 

Skylight began this celebration this past fall staging the first part to the trilogy of stories written by Pierre Beaumarchais, “The Barber of Seville,” composed as an opera by Rossini. In the first part, the clever barber Figaro assisted Count Almaviva in finally winning the hand of the count’s true love, Rosina.

Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” picks up 10 years later, as Figaro is now trying to marry his true love, the maid Susanna. But there is more political intrigue underfoot as others attempt to thwart their love, including the now-scheming and philandering Count Almaviva, who has eyes only for Susanna. Yes, this is a comedy, and director Bill Theisen mines it for all its humor, visually and otherwise.

Part of the charm of this production lies in the vocal and acting talents of this well cast ensemble of actors, who not only sing their parts – in English no less – but inhabit their roles. As the at-times bumbling but always-shrewd Figaro, Andrew Wilkowske shines as he reprises his Figaro from Skylight’s “Barber” earlier in the season. His broad baritone range filled the stage, from the spoken recitatives with his beloved Susanna to the comedic (for the audience) frustrated solos of a newlywed.

Alicia Berneche’s Susanna runs the gamut of emotions as the coquettish but determined Susanna. Her full bodied soprano is rich with color and texture as she darts from machination to machination. What a joy to watch and hear Diane Lane’s Cherubino, who gives this production an additional jolt of energy and zing the moment she steps on stage. Her mezzo soprano resonates with poignancy as she pines for Cherubino’s true love, a delicate vibrato underscoring the malaise.

The rest of the ensemble merits full credit as well: Kurt Ollmann (as the count), Thomas J. Weis, William Lavonis (who amuses to no end in dual roles), Tanya Kruse, Ryan Matthew Porter and Susan Wiedmeyer. Of special note is Carol Greif, who filled in at the Jan. 30 performance, handling the singing of Marcellina on a side stage while actress Jennifer Clark continued to act the role despite “vocal problems.”

And in case you’re wondering about that all too famous phrase, “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro”? That’s actually from “The Barber of Seville.”

“The Marriage of Figaro” runs through Feb. 14 in the Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. Info: 414-291-7800, www.skylightopera.com.