By Edith Decker
of the Daily Courier
The embattled Rogue Opera organization opened an excellent production of “The Marriage of Figaro” on Sunday in Grants Pass, despite a nearly complete change in administration and board a few months ago.
That must be in large part thanks to Southern Oregon University Department of Performing Arts head Noel Koran, who jumped in as artistic director for the company and also directed the production. He called on his long association with professional opera companies to gather an exceptional cast.
One of the wonderful things about seeing Rogue Opera productions is seeing the stars of tomorrow, the young singers — perfect for their roles in rollicking romances like “Figaro” — getting a chance to show what they can do.
It was a treat to hear Albanian-born Kreshnik Zhabjaku in the title role, for instance. Not only is his voice lovely and strong, but his acting skills came to the fore as he played the wily servant of a philandering count. Zhabjaku, who has won many competitions now lives and works in New York.
His leading lady, playing Figaro’s beloved, Susanna, is Jacquelynne Fontaine. The two seemed like they really were a couple, whether it was during a tender moment or as tempers flaired when the wedding seemed it might never take place. Fontaine, a former Miss California, is currently a doctoral student in Los Angeles.
They were simply a perfect match, both in voice and as actors. You’d think they’d been in love for years.
Giving the stars a run for the money, though, was Portland Opera soprano Wendy Parker, playing the boy Cherubino, who has a crush on the long-suffering countess — and every other woman he comes upon. His mischief gets him into trouble with the count, who sends him off to the battlefield.
If Figaro and Susanna are the happy couple, then the count and countess are the unhappy one. Count Almaviva is the embodiment of what we’d today call the double standard. He’s trying to seduce Susanna one moment and jealous that Cherubino is looking at his wife the next. Daniel Cilli is a tall, slender and imposing figure as the count, a role he also played at his home company, Opera San Jose.
Dawn Clare’s rich voice adds a dimension to the countess, a sadness you can hear in the notes. Clare has sung around the country, both in opera and concerts, and came from New York for this role.
Mozart shook things up a bit with his first Italian- style opera, and it’s still one of the favorites in his canon. He based it on an extremely controversial play of the time that made fun of the nobility and extolled the regular people — like Figaro and Susanna.
So the three antagonists in the story are people normally looked up to — the count, Dr. Bartolo and Don Basilio. Also, there’s a greedy widow, Marcellina, who’d like Figaro for herself and who extorted a promise of marriage from him when he borrowed money from her long ago.
Together, the foursome work to stop Figaro from being married to the woman he loves, all the while Figaro is trying to sort out the problem, keep the count away from Susanna, help Cherubino avoid the count and get to his wedding night.
Charis Peden’s incredible voice seemed wasted as Marcellina; it was easy to wish we could hear more of her. As her co-conspirator, Dr. Bartolo, Don Matthews added even more comic relief.
Rounding out the cast are several Rogue Valley singers, including Andrew Brock as the slippery Don Basilio, SOU student Dan Gibbs as the gardener Antonio, Marian Horton as Barbarina, and Natali de Assis and Leoni Lanzas as featured singers from the chorus of townsfolk.
The large orchestra that accompanied the performance was excellent, led by Samuel McCoy.
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