San Francisco Opera is going to the drive-in-theater at Marin Center Marin in San Rafael, California, this spring, mounting a new live production of The Barber of Seville to be presented to audiences in vehicles in April and May. From April 23 to May 15, the company will stage 11 performances of a 90-minute of Rossini’s opera.
The live presentations are being done with safety protocols in place, with collaboration from doctors and health professionals.
Conductor Roderick Cox will lead a socially distanced ensemble of San Francisco Opera Orchestra musicians in a production with no chorus. The cast includes baritone Lucas Meachem as Figaro, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack (alternating with Laura Krumm) as Rosina, tenor Alek Shrader as Almaviva, bass Philip Skinner as Dr. Bartolo, bass Kenneth Kellogg as Don Basilio and mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook as Berta.
Audiences have two choices for viewing the drive-in performances. Tickets are $250 per vehicle for the fairgrounds view of the set and performers. For $50 per car, the lagoon offers ticketholders a live simulcast to a drive-in movie screen.
The spring season also includes live performances of a concert of operatic favorites.
