Mozart's Figaro is one of the rare examples of a successful literary sequel. The original play by Beaumarchais was a follow-up to his previous hit, The Barber of Seville. The first audiences for Mozart's opera knew that play — and we still know it through the operatic version by Rossini. So for many people, this opera's characters are already quite familiar. But their circumstances have changed. In The Barber of Seville, a young nobleman named Almaviva wins his lover Rosina away from her lecherous guardian Dr. Bartolo, with considerable help from the Count's friend, Figaro. As The Marriage of Figaro begins, it's three years later. The young lovers are now the Count and Countess Almaviva. Figaro is the Count's personal valet, and he's engaged to marry the Countess' maid.
Aaron Blake will be playing the role of Don Basilio