Barbiere di Siviglia - Gioachino Rossini

Did you grow up with Looney Tunes? Do you recognize this image?

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Then you’ll know exactly what our first song is! 

We are kicking off this show with the Overture from Barber of Seville, featuring the skills of the fabulous Jordan Buchholtz. This famous overture sets the stage for the dramatic comedy that follows.

Rossini’s operas are classic bel canto style. The music is bubbly yet beautiful. Full of vocal fireworks. And the plots and characters match. Barber of Seville was a story originally written in 1775 by a Frenchman named Pierre Beaumarchais. He wrote a series of three stories about the same group of characters (remember this, because it comes back later in our program).

Barber is the first of the 3 stories. It tells the tale of a clever young Count Almaviva and how he woos his future wife, Rosina. With the help of his former servant, Figaro, they scheme to make Rosina fall in love with Almaviva for his heart, and not his money.

Rosina’s first aria is the famous Una voce poco fa (A voice a little while ago). Rosina reflects on the lovely voice she just heard serenading her through her window. The serenade has wooed her and she voices her desire to free herself from her strict guardian and marry this honey-voiced suitor.

Bartolo (the before mentioned guardian of Rosina) is suspicious of Almaviva, who at this point in the show is disguised as a poor student named Lindoro. Bartolo confides his suspicions to Rosina’s music teacher, Basilio. Basilio offers to drive Almaviva away by circulating false rumors about him, (La calumnia è un venticello - Calumny is a little breeze).

While Bartolo and Basilio spread their rumours, Figaro is chatting with Rosina. He is convincing her to some encouraging words to Lindoro to show her affection and give him confidence to keep pursuing her (Dunque io son...tu non m'inganni?- Then I'm the one...you're not fooling me? ). Little does Figaro know, Rosina has already written the letter and is very interested in Almaviva.

The rest of the opera includes many shenanigans as the young trio of Fiagro, Amaviva, and Rosina thwart Basilio and Bartolo’s attempts at control. In true comic opera fashion, this opera ends with the two lovers managing a quick but official marriage under Bartolo’s nose before they disappear to live happily ever after.

Sweeney Todd - Stephen Sondheim

With the full title of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” you know this is going to be a dark musical. The character or Sweeney was based on a character from Victorian Era penny dreadfuls, which were short stories published as short weekly serials costing a penny a piece. Pairing this dramatic story with Sondheim’s signature discordant musical style made for an award winning musical that continues to captivate audiences both on stage and on the silver screen.

The mysterious Sweeney Todd returns to London. Shortly after disembarking, he makes his way to a pie shop on Fleet Street. The pie shop’s owner, the widowed, Mrs. Lovett, invites Todd in and bemoans the current economic state of London (Worst Pies in London). Both meat and customers have been scarce.

Sweeny Todd asks Mrs. Lovett about the apartment above the pie shop. Mrs. Lovett proceeds to tell the harrowing tale of Benjamin Barker, the man who used to live in that apartment. A powerful man, Judge Turpin, had Barker transported for life by serving him with false charges. Once Barker was out of the way, Judge Turpin lured Barker’s wife, Lucy, to a masked ball and raped her. Thoroughly traumatized, Lucy poisoned herself with arsenic and their infant daughter Johanna became a ward of the judge.

Sweeny reveals to Mrs. Lovett that he is Benjamin Barker. She gives him his old tools back, a collection of silver straight razor blades from his days as a barber. Sweeney marvels at being reunited with this piece of his former life (My Friends).  

Johanna has grown into a beautiful young woman, but she remains trapped in Judge Turpin’s home. She sits in the window and sings Green Finch and Linnet Bird. She questions how these pet birds can be so cheerful when their lives are so confined by their cages. Johanna longs to be free, but has no means to escape the Judge.

You might be able to call Sweeny’s first murder self defense. After a public display of his shaving prowess, his first customer arrives at the shop only to reveal that he saw through Sweeny’s disguise and knows he is actually Benjamin Barker. The customer demands half Sweeney’s income for life as the price of his silence. Otherwise, he will notify Judge Turpin of Sweeney’s return. Take this as a lesson that you probably shouldn’t blackmail some while they are shaving your face with a straight razor. Sweeney kills his first customer.

While discussing the best way to dispose of the body with Mrs. Lovett, she has an idea. Meat has been scarce….and here is some perfectly good meat sitting right in front of them. She pitches her idea in Try a Little Priest. Sweeney is onboard and the Demon Barber of Fleet Street embarks on his killing spree.

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Le Nozze di Figaro- Wolfgana Amadeus Mozart

Remember the first story about Figaro earlier in the program? This is the sequel! While Rossini's opera tells how the young Count Almaviva won Rosina's hand with the help of Figaro, Mozart's opera reveals what happens years later, when that seemingly perfect marriage is tested by jealousy, infidelity, and the resilience of love. Premiered in 1786, Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is one of Mozart's greatest comic operas, combining sparkling humor with remarkable emotional depth. Set over the course of a single "crazy day," the opera follows the servants Figaro and Susanna as they outwit their employer, Count Almaviva, whose attempts to pursue Susanna threaten their upcoming marriage. Through mistaken identities, disguises, and clever schemes, the characters ultimately arrive at forgiveness and reconciliation. 

The opera opens with this playful duet as Figaro excitedly measures the room that he and Susanna are to occupy after their wedding trying to plan how big of bed they can fit inside (Cinque…dieci…venti - five, ten, twenty). Figaro imagines their happy future, Susanna quickly realizes that the room's location near the Count's chambers may expose her to his unwanted advances. 

Years have passed since our happy couple from The Barber of Seville wed and they have succumbed to the restlessness of middle age.  The Countess (Rosina) knows of her husband’s interest in Susanna and is deeply hurt by his wandering desires. She sings Porgi, amor (Grant, O Love) mourning the loss of the love and devotion her husband once showed her. She longs for happier days while maintaining dignity and compassion despite her heartbreak. Mozart's lyrical writing transforms her sorrow into one of the opera's most poignant moments.

In this lively trio, Susanna, or via, sortite (Susanna, come on, come out) the Count attempts to dismiss Susanna while concealing his own intentions, but Susanna skillfully navigates the conversation with intelligence and wit. Their exchange highlights the imbalance of power between master and servant while demonstrating Susanna's remarkable ability to outmaneuver the Count. The music sparkles with quick dialogue and comic energy, foreshadowing the elaborate schemes that unfold throughout the opera.

One of Mozart's most celebrated duets, Sull'aria…Che soave zeffiretto (On the Breeze, what a gentle breeze) features the Countess dictating a letter while Susanna writes it down. The letter arranges a secret meeting intended to trap the unfaithful Count. The letter poetically describes a beautiful evening under the pine grove, with a few suggestive word choices intertwined. The women know exactly what they are doing as the duet ends with both women agreeing “And he’ll understand the rest” with a wink and a smile. Their perfectly intertwined vocal lines reflect the trust and solidarity between the two women, creating a moment of remarkable elegance amid the opera's comic intrigue. 

Believing that Susanna has betrayed him, Figaro delivers this witty yet bitter aria Aprite un po' quegli occhi (Open those eyes a bit). He tells other men to open their eyes and beware of women's tricks. Though fueled by jealousy and misunderstanding, the aria reveals Figaro's vulnerability beneath his confident exterior. Its energetic pacing and sharp humor make it one of the opera's most entertaining character pieces.

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Near the opera's conclusion, Susanna sings this exquisite aria Deh vieni, non tardar (Oh come, do not delay) while disguised as the Countess as part of a plan to expose the Count's infidelity. Although the text appears to be a love song addressed to the Count, Susanna knows that Figaro is secretly listening, making the aria both teasing and genuinely affectionate.

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Guys & Dolls- Frank Loesser

We find ourselves on the bustling streets of the City that Never Sleeps. The year is around 1930 and we are about to find ourselves in the company of some of New York City’s gamblers, gangsters, and conmen.

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Like all good plots, this story starts with a bet. Nathan Detroit runs an illegal craps ring, but due to increased police presence, he is running out of places to host. He finally finds a location, but the owner wants $1,000 upfront. And Nathan is broke. 

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To raise the money, Nathan makes a wager with the famously lucky gambler, Sky Masterson. They place the bet and Sky must get a woman of Nathan’s choosing to go for dinner in Havana Cuba. 

Nathan chooses Sarah Brown as Sky’s target. Sarah is a notoriously rigid and straight laced woman and Nathan is sure Sky couldn’t possibly win.

Sky and Sarah’s first interaction does not go well. Sara rebuffs Sky’s advances. They argue over who they will fall in love with (I’ll Know) and when Sky leans in to try and steal a kiss, Sarah slaps him across the face.

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Nathan might currently be winning the bet, but he is facing his own challenges when it comes to love. His fiancee of 14 years is not thrilled with the length of their engagement and would like to get on with the marriage. Adelaide and Nathan talk after her nightclub performance and she asks him to marry her yet again, saying she has been writing to her mother for 12 years pretending that she and Nathan have been married and have 5 children. In their argument, she finds out that Nathan is once again running his illegal craps games. She angrily kicks him out of her dressing room. To calm down, she picks up a nearby medical text book and begins to peruse. The book explains that Nathan’s refusal to marry her is the cause for her perpetual cold (Adelaide’s Lament).

Sarah learns that she must close her branch of the Save-a-Soul organization unless she brings some sinners to an upcoming revival meeting. Sarah pledges to bring a “dozen genuine sinners” to the next meeting. Coincidentally, this is the bargain Sky first made with Sarah to convince her to go to dinner in Havana, one dozen genuine sinners for one dinner with him in Havana. Sarah has implicitly accepted Sky’s bargain.

Soon the two of them are sipping “Cuban milkshakes” (with extra Bacardi) at a Havana nightclub. After dinner, an inebriated Sarah kisses Sky (If I Were a Bell). Sky realizes he genuinely cares for Sarah. As the night turns into early morning, both watch the sunrise and admit their growing feelings for each other (My Time of Day/I’ve Never Been In Love Before).

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Nathan and Sky might not be the most upstanding gentlemen, but even with their lies and schemes, by the end of Act 2 both Sarah and Adelaide have uncovered a truth that shows how much these two men really care about these two women. Even though they are far from perfect, the women decide to Marry the Man Today and take on the project of easing these gamblers into a life of traditional domestic bliss.

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We end our show today with a number from Guys and Dolls that was adopted and made famous by Frank Sinatra. While Sinatra sings Luck be a Lady in his famous crooner style, the original from this show is much more upbeat. It's a high energy number as Sky, the notoriously lucky gambler, coaxes Lady Luck to be on his side while he wages the biggest bet of his life to support Sarah.

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Thank you!!

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We want to thank all of you for joining us this evening. We hope you had an enjoyable evening with us. Cheers!

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While this concert is free, we do take donations. It is with your support that we can continue our mission - to make opera accessible to everyone. If you would like to donate, you can place cash in the jars on the tables near the stage. We also accept payment via Vemno @overdressedduo. For a check donation or if you would like a receipt for your donation, please speak with one of our volunteers wearing the pink volunteer lanyards. We thank you for your support.

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​Overdressed is a 501c3 non-profit organization.