Figaro helps Rosina plot her romantic future in a scene from “The Barber of Seville.” The comic opera will show Tuesday, April 22, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.

Western Carolina University will present the opera “The Barber of Seville,” produced by the Asheville Lyric Opera, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in the main performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center on Western’s campus.

The “Barber of Seville,” or “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” is a two-act comic opera about the battle for the love of the young Rosina between her guardian, Dr. Bartolo, and a Spanish nobleman, Count Almaviva. Based on an earlier work, “The Barber of Seville” was composed by Gioachino Rossini, written by Cesare Sterbini and first performed in 1816 in Rome.

Mezzo-soprano Cheryse McLeod Lewis, who made her Asheville Lyric Opera debut in 2005 singing the title role in “Carmen,” will play the role of Rosina. Daniel C. Stein, who has sung with several regional opera companies, will play the role of Count Almaviva. In the role of Dr. Bartolo is Daniel C. Webb, a bass-baritone who has appeared as Colline in more than 300 performances of Baz Luhrmann’s Broadway production of “La Boheme.” Gregory Gerbrandt, a baritone, will play the role of Figaro, a barber who assists Almaviva in his pursuit. Jonathan Hodel will conduct.

“The Barber of Seville,” presented by WCU’s Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series, is the first opera to show in the Fine and Performing Arts Center. Performers will sing in Italian, without amplification, with English translations appearing on a screen above the stage.

“Opera is for everybody,” said Robert Kehrberg, dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts. As a comedy, “The Barber of Seville” is readily accessible to all audiences. Many might already be familiar with the storyline through the famous Bugs Bunny cartoon parody “The Rabbit of Seville.”

The local showing of “The Barber of Seville” will allow residents to see a performance for which they would otherwise have to travel, Kehrberg said. According to David Craig Starkey, general and artistic director of the Asheville Lyric Opera, the Fine and Performing Arts Center’s 940-seat performance hall will make for an “amazingly intimate experience.”

Tickets for “The Barber of Seville” are free for WCU students; $5 for WCU faculty and staff, non-WCU students and senior citizens; and $10 for the general public. For more information, contact the Fine and Performing Arts Center box office at (828) 227-2479 or visit http://wcutheatre.ticketsxchange.com.

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Last modifed: Thursday, April 3, 2008