Famous opera gets outdoor stage

Korean music lovers are eagerly anticipating “The Marriage of Figaro,” one of Mozart’s three great operas, which will be performed here from Oct. 14 to Oct. 17.
To celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Korea-Italy Treaty of Amity, the opera will be held on an outdoor stage at 88 Jandi Madang, inside Seoul Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul.
Extra care and effort is going in to making sure everyone in the audience can hear and see the performance, regardless of how much they have paid to watch.
The capacity for the venue is going to be limited to 7,000 to 8,000 seats, organizers said.
“The Marriage of Figaro” is a romantic comedy wrapped in a rather complicated plot. The story details the adventures of a noble’s servant named Figaro. His master, Count Almaviva, has a wife named Rosina but is attracted to her maid Susanna, who happens to be engaged to Figaro.
The count tries to prevent their marriage with a scheme that forces Figaro to marry someone else. After tricks and deception that result in all kinds of confusion, Figaro and Susanna regain each other’s trust and end up living happily ever after.
The opera will be conducted by Paolo Olmi, who has conducted many different orchestras internationally since 1986. One of his most recent operas was “Moses in Egypt,” performed at the Opera Rome Theater.
He will be accompanied by the Italian International Orchestra and the Ventidio Basso Theater choir, a professional opera-singing group in Italy.
The producer is Lev Pugliese, who started his career as a producer when he was only 17. He has directed “The Barber of Seville,” “Rigoletto” and “Don Giovanni.”
Baritone singer Paolo Coni plays the count, while Sofia Mitropoulos, a soprano, plays the role of the countess. Elia Fabbian plays Figaro and Patrizia Cigna plays Susanna.
The director of the orchestra has visited Korea twice in the past. “I love Korea because Koreans are open to various kinds of music,” Mr. Olmi said.
“In Italy, there are many Koreans who study music. The two countries have been building a close relationship with each other.”
Mr. Pugliese, the opera’s producer, said the lyrics contain many double meanings. But because the opera is sung in Italian, most of the audience will have to depend on the Korean subtitles (no English available) on the monitors installed at the outdoor theater.

by Choi Sun-young

On Oct. 14 and 15, “The Marriage of Figaro” will start at 7:30 p.m., and on Oct. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from 50,000 won ($43) to 200,000 won.
For more information, call the promotions department at (02) 1544-4463. For tickets, call Ticketlink at (02) 1588-7890.