Flora L. Thornton Opera Program to Present Le Nozze di Figaro
Seaver College students enrolled in the Flora L. Thornton Opera Program will perform Le Nozze di Figaro in Smothers Theatre on Thursday, February 24, and Saturday, February 26, 2022, at 7:30 PM PST. Le Nozze di Figaro is a tale that breaks the conventions of its time, portraying servants outwitting entitled nobility. The opera will be sung in Italian and presented with English supertitles.
“Le Nozze di Figaro is truly a masterpiece,” the show director, Keith Colclough shares. “The characters are three-dimensional, the dramatic pacing is inspired, and Mozart's score is sublime. At times hilarious, at times poignant, the work is simply a joy to both watch and perform."
Colclough, assistant professor of vocal studies and director of opera at Seaver College, will direct the show, and Long Tao “Pierre” Tang, assistant professor of music and director of instrumental ensembles at Seaver College, will conduct the performance.
"Directing Le Nozze di Figaro has been on my bucket list since I started directing. It’s rare for an all-undergraduate opera program to have the right combination of talent to pull off Le Nozze di Figaro, and we have an excellent group of young singers,” Colclough shares. “It has also been a joy to have my brother, Craig Colclough, following recent debuts in the titular role in Verdi’s Macbeth at both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera, join us to sing Bartolo and coach our students. I know our students are learning a lot from him both on and off stage.”
The Flora L. Thornton Opera Program at Pepperdine University has developed a reputation as one of the nation’s leading undergraduate vocal programs. It features an annual fully staged opera, a biennial summer intensive in Heidelberg, Germany, and master classes with top industry professionals. A one-million-dollar endowment from Flora Laney Thornton, one of Southern California’s most beloved and honored arts philanthropists, ensures high-quality productions. Pepperdine graduates have won scholarships to many of the nation’s most prestigious graduate programs, including the Juilliard School, Yale Graduate Opera Program, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, Rice University, and USC. Pepperdine graduates are now gracing the rosters of America’s leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Seattle Opera.
Tickets for this performance are $20. For additional information about Le Nozze di Figaro, visit the event’s registration page.