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and a haircut
MSC OPAS brings Barber of Seville to Texas A&M
son,” said Paul Parrish, president of MSC
OPAS and English professor.
The opera will be perfonned in Italian, the
language in which Rossini originally wrote it.
But students should not let this scare them away
from seeing the perfonnance.
“Operas are performed in the language in
which they are written. However, supertitles
will be provided so it will be easy to keep up
with and the integrity of the original language
is maintained,” Parrish said.
The Barber of Seville is a comedic opera
based on a hilarious love-at-first-sight story.
“The Barber of Seville is especially attrac
tive to a wide audience as it is one of few com
paratively comic operas, while most others are
tragic,” Parrish said.
For those who are not familiar with opera.
The Barber of Seville offers a way to experience
and enjoy opera for the first time.
“The Barber of Seville strikes a familiar
chord with many. It is a comedic opera that is
meant to be light and enjoyable, not overly deep
or profound. It can be a way to ease into opera
for a person not familiar with it,” Parrish said.
“I think that this production will be a great
way to introduce opera to newcomers, and also
an awesome production that opera lovers would
enjoy,” said Jeremy Byrd, vice president of
OPAS and a senior psychology major.
When Rossini’s production first came out,
it did so under a different title because there
was already an existing show titled The Bar
ber of Seville.
“Rossini’s version is the one that has con
tinued. I expect this production to be a good
one. I think Rossini would be happy to see it per
formed today if he had the chance,” Parrish said.
“The opera by Rossini is famous, and we
knew that it would be an incredible addition
to our 27th season and looked forward to
bringing this performance to educate and en
tertain the student body and surrounding com
munity,” said Byrd.
It will be perfonned in Rudder Auditorium
by the New York City Opera National Compa
ny, which has also perfonned other operas at
Texas A&M such as Daughter of the Regiment.
“The New York City Opera National Com
pany was established in 1979 and is considered
the premier touring opera company in the coun
try. This opera company has been perfonning
here for the last five years. They are incredible,
and have always brought high-class opera to
A&M,” Byrd said.
OPAS became involved with the touring
company when they offered to come perfonn
at A&M and has continued a relationship with
the company.
“We have a great relationship with the New
York City Opera National Company; they al
ways offer to us the opportunity to accept their
next season’s production. When we had the
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