Here Come the Barbers

Followers of tonsorial artistry will have much to look forward to this summer when New Jersey Opera Theater and the Princeton Festival present their summer programs.

By: Stuart Duncan

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Harry


Dworchak will sing the title role in The Princeton Festival’s Sweeney
Todd.


   Followers of tonsorial artistry will have much to admire this
summer. On Aug. 14 at Princeton’s Berlind Theatre, McCarter’s second stage facility,
a barber from the Seville region of Spain named Figaro will lead a group of lovers
and would-be lovers in a happy romp to music by Gioacchino Rossini. And a month
earlier, July 3, at the Kirby Arts Center on the grounds of Lawrenceville School,
a barber named Todd (given name Sweeney) who runs a second-story tonsorial parlor
on Fleet Street in London and specializes in close shaves, will use the music
of Stephen Sondheim to tell his sad tale.
   The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Sinigla)
is being produced by New Jersey Opera Theater as part of a most ambitious summer
program. You may remember that the project was formed in 2002 with the intent
of operating from September through May, off-season from the then-functioning
Opera Festival of New Jersey, and with the stated purpose of complementing performing
artists’ training and other educational outreach.
   When Opera Festival shuttered due to financial distress, Lisa
Altman, the Festival’s artistic administrator, and her husband, Scott, who had
sung several roles with the company, made the decision to pick up what pieces
they could. Last summer, armed with a budget of less than $20,000 and professional
singers who donated time, the duo offered a number of events. That budget has
mushroomed thirty-fold, and this summer NJOT is staging three operas, plus concerts
— roughly 45 educational events and 12 public opera performances.
   The Barber of Seville comes in the middle — preceded
by Il Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) sung Aug. 12, 16
and 22. It is followed by Massenet’s Cherubin, with performances Aug. 18
and 21. The Barber is sung Aug. 14, 17 and 19. Included in the cast are
Gian-Carla Tiszer as Rosina; Jason Kamminski as Figaro; and Stephanos Tsirakglou,
as Dr. Bartolo.
   Now, should you prefer an English approach to tonsorial pleasures,
rather than Italian, then you may find the Demon Barber of Fleet Street closer
to your tastes. The show is being sponsored by The Princeton Festival, but don’t
be fooled by the nomenclature — the Sondheim musical is being performed in
Lawrence. Further, it is the only staged work of the summer. (There is a single
chamber music offering July 8.) The cast includes Harry Dworchak in the title
role and Kathryn Cowdrick as Mrs. Lovett.
New Jersey Opera Theater will present Le Nozze di Figaro, Aug. 12, 16
and 20; Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Aug. 14, 17 and 19; and Chérubin,
Aug. 18 and 21. Other performances: Musical Theater Under the Stars at
Pettoranello Gardens, Aug. 5-6; Beaumarchais Plus, Aug. 13-14; and Ladies
Afternoon at the Opera, Aug. 20. Tickets cost $35-$45, $10 standing room. For
information, call (609) 258-2787. On the Web: www.njot.org

The Princeton Festival will present Sweeney Todd at the Kirby Arts Center
at the Lawrenceville School, Route 206, Lawrence, July 3, 3 p.m.; July 9, 15-16,
8 p.m. Tickets cost $25-$75. Call (800) 595-4849. On the Web: www.princetonfestival.org