Opera may no longer be one of the most popular forms of entertainment, but it’s still one of the most challenging genres for performers.

ISU Theatre’s “The Marriage of Figaro” has taxed the cast members the past couple of months, but this weekend, they’ll be able to taste the fruits of their labor.

Brad Dell, director of the opera and lecturer in music, said the biggest challenge of putting on the opera was the sheer volume of everything that needed to be done. Not only are the songs complicated, but the recitatives – or dialogue – were hard to learn.

“Everything is challenging. [The music] is so much harder, more complex, interesting, and it’s more central than the movement, which tries to support the music as much as possible,” Dell said. “We’re staging and choreographing three hours of music without messing with the music.”

Stacey Goodman, senior in management, plays Susannah, a chambermaid and Figaro’s bride in the show. She said the opera has been a new experience for her and loves seeing the staging and the sets.

Besides handling the difficult music, she said it’s also been a challenge to put everything – including the sets, lighting, costumes, makeup and wigs – together.

The challenge may make the experience rewarding. Goodman said the best thing has been to see when everything does come together and getting to know everyone in the cast better.

Even though the music is extremely difficult, Dell said the actors have been handling the experience extremely well.

“There are several people in the show with little stage experience, and this is the chance of a lifetime to perform such a large show,” Dell said. “They’ve grown as actors – this was a gargantuan experience to grow in. It’s been their No. 1 focus and priority for the past two months, and they’ve been so heroic about everything.”

Goodman said she is amazed at how well people have handled the music. She said when most people think of opera, however, they don’t imagine college students performing it.

FIGARO FIGARO FEE-GAH-ROW!

“The Marriage of Figaro,” written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, follows Mozart’s characters from his previous opera, “The Barber of Seville.” Although the story has many principal characters and is complicated, the main plot line revolves around four of them.

Figaro and Susannah have become personal servants to Count and Countess Almaviva, whom Figaro helped to get married.

As Figaro and Susannah’s wedding approaches, Count Almaviva wants to reinstate the old feudal right that he can sleep with any female under his rule on her wedding night.

Figaro, Susannah and the Countess have to plan together to prevent the Count from invoking that right with Susannah in a story about servants rising over the aristocracy.

Goodman said she would compare the story to a soap opera, but Kelly Kruse, senior in music who plays Countess Almaviva, said she thinks the story will be appealing because it’s like a romantic comedy.

“It’s about men and women tricking each other,” Kruse said. “There are no feudal rights now, but it’s still really hilarious.”

Gordon Gerrard, lecturer in music, the opera’s musical director and one of its conductors, said the main difference between opera music and musical theater music is that true opera is more complicated and sophisticated.

He said this opera will also be remarkably accessible because it will be performed in English.

“You have to tear things apart and pay attention for detail in the score,” Gerrard said. “It takes a lot of work, but it makes it rewarding because it takes it to the next level of concentrating on little things.”

Besides a challenging score, the opera has also faced the difficulty of time constraints.

Work for “The Marriage of Figaro” began last April with auditions, but rehearsals didn’t begin until this fall.

Gerrard said he couldn’t believe it when he first found out the opera would be put on the first week in November, but he is pleased with the result.

Because a full-scale opera requires such a large amount of work, Iowa State only puts on a full-scale opera once every three years. Gerrard said he thinks “The Marriage of Figaro” is comparable to any show that any institution can stage.

“It goes beyond expectations and is the best, for a small department,” Gerrard said. “The schedule makes it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but everything is so beautiful. The music and look are the payoff and seeing students take what they’re given and run with it.”

Bridging the gap

Goodman said this has been a special opportunity, as “The Marriage of Figaro” has been a joint effort between the music and theater departments.

“Not many undergrads can do a big production. We’re a growing department, and since there’s no grad [music] program, it offers undergraduates experience,” Goodman said. “I’m so glad it happened during my four years, because as a freshman, I may not have felt comfortable doing it.”

Dell said he thinks it will be a wonderful experience for the audience as well, because it will expose people to another medium, and he can’t imagine seeing the show and being bored with it.

“There are moments in the show that take your breath away,” Dell said. “People will have a great time because they’ll be transported for a few hours.”

Gerrard said he hopes people will appreciate the fantastic music and take something away from the story, even though it is fun.

“People will realize these are real, live relationships between the characters,” Gerrard said. “You can hear them through the music, and I hope it makes people think about their relationships with other people.”

Goodman said she wants people to leave with an appreciation for opera. She said she’s excited to finally perform in front of an audience on opening night, as it will give feedback and reactions that add to the performance.

“They can escape and enter a different time period, a different world, with big characters in their world and some of the most beautiful music ever written,” she said.