This weekend, director Robert L. Larsen and the Music Department present to the Simpson Community on of the world’s greatest operas, Mozart’s comic-opera “The Marriage of Figaro.”

The opera is based on a second of the three plays of Beaumarchais. It is full of humor, disguise and womanizing. It takes place in Count Almaviva’s castle just outside Seville, Spain.

Senior Tim Reuter, who plays Count Almaviva says, ” The Count is just a womanizer who thinks that he is on top of everything but he really has no idea of what Susanna, Figaro and the Countess are plotting until the last act of the show.”

The cast is so large that most of the lead roles are double cast, meaning that one cast will perform at the final dress rehearsal on Thursday (dress rehearsal) and Saturday and another cast will perform on Friday and Sunday.

Senior Nancy Davis, who plays the role of Susanna said, “This has been an excellent learning experience both vocally and stage-wise.”

Davis admires the wit of her character. “Susanna posses great wit about her. Although she’s only a maid to the Countess, she is the mastermind of the show and the rest of the plot unfolds because of her,” said Davis.

Sharing the role with Davis is junior Diana Stoic.

” I hope that some women from the audience will be able to relate to her, because during this misogynistic and aristocratic culture Susanna still manages to prove that women can outwit men,” said Stoic.

Simpson College traditionally produces excellent talent in the theatre and music departments and this kind of show is an example as to why.

“I think that preparing for this show has equipped us with great skills because the music and staging are demanding and Mozart’s recitative is rather difficult,” said junior Kara Lambert.

One of Simpson’s most promising sopranos is junior Amelia Groetsch, who plays the role of the Countess. “This was quite a challenge for me because the Countess is so elegant and melodramatic and she is even more mature than I am which makes me put a lot of effort into portraying the role as it was intended,” Groetsch said.

The show opens on Friday, Oct. 18 and will conclude with a matinee performance on Sunday, Oct. 20 in Pote Theatre.