¡FIGARO! (90210) Begins in March at The Duke

Echoing current presidential candidates' contentious views on immigration, the opera ¡Figaro! (90210) brings the debate over immigration reform and income equality center stage beginning Saturday, March 19th at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project (229 West 42nd Street). After highly acclaimed concert performances in 2013, and a sold-out run with LA Opera in January 2015, ¡Figaro! (90210) will make its New York stage premiere opening Thursday, March 24th for a limited engagement through Sunday, April 3rd. This adaptation of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro blends the original score with a new English (and Spanglish) libretto by Vid Guerrerio and recasts the title character and his fiancée Susanna as undocumented workers in a mansion of a Beverly Hills real estate mogul and his actress wife. Melissa Crespo directs with music direction by Raphael Fusco.

As timely and politically charged as Mozart's source material, a 1784 stage comedy about class and power by Pierre Beaumarchais, ¡Figaro! (90210) presents a sharp social critique of our times, tempered by a deeply humane spirit of reconciliation. Set in present-day Los Angeles and filled with pop references and contemporary slang, this production also makes the opera more accessible to today's audiences by distilling the action into a two and a half hour show.

"Nowadays, The Marriage of Figaro is such a part of the cultural landscape that it's easy to forget just how fresh, and even dangerous, the opera and play were when they premiered," says librettist Guerrerio. "Setting the action amidst current debates over immigration reform and income inequality presents a chance to learn from the past. Written in response to a period of tremendous social change, the original addresses many of the same challenges we're facing more than two hundred years later."

The New York stage premiere is sponsored in part by the Mexican Cultural Institute. "As Consul General of Mexico in New York, I am happy to support ¡Figaro! (90210)," states Ambassador Sandra Fuentes-Berain. "Not only is it a showcase for one of Mexico's beloved singers, José Adán Pérez, but also a crowd-pleasing entertainment that addresses, with laughter and beautiful music, issues of real importance for so many Mexicans living in the US, as well as the larger Latino community."

The cast of 14 opera singers reflects the increasingly multicultural demographics of present-day America. The cast is led by baritone José Adán Pérez as Figaro and soprano Samarie Alicea as Susana, with bass-baritone Luke Scott and soprano Raquel Suarez Groen as their employers Paul and Roxanne Conti (based on Mozart's Count and Countess Almaviva). Tenor Dwayne A. Washington plays the teenage troublemaker Li'l B-Man (a character based on Mozart's Cherubino), while the roles of Soon-Yi Nam and Babayan, a Korean businesswoman and Armenian mobster who cause trouble for Figaro and Susanna, are played by Sahoko Sato Timpone and Ethan Herschenfeld.

Sets are designed by Steven C. Kemp, with costumes designed by Lux Haac and lighting designed by Gina Scheer.

The playing schedule for ¡Figaro! (90210) is as follows: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 7PM.

Tickets are $89. To purchase tickets and for further information, please visit: Figaro90210.com or Dukeon42.org. Tickets also available by phone at 646-223-3010, or at the box office. (Regular box office hours at The Duke on 42nd Street are: Tues-Fri 4pm-7pm; Saturday 12pm- 6pm. Box Office hours are extended on performance days.)

Photo by Ben Gibbs, courtesy of LA Opera