Opera Southwest brings Rossini's comedic 'Le comte Ory' to the stage

Jan. 27—Gioachino Rossini's "Le comte Ory" mixes the sensuality of Ravel with the highjinks of Groucho Marx.

Opera Southwest will perform the composer's last comedy for three shows in February at the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Albuquerque Journal Theatre.

"It's his only comedy in French and it's his penultimate opera," said Anthony Barrese, OSW artistic director/conductor.

"He was writing it at the same time as 'William Tell.' "

The composer of "The Barber of Seville" lifted 60% of the music from an "occasional" piece he wrote for the coronation of King Charles X, Barrese said.

"But the new stuff he composed was like nothing he had composed before," Barrese continued. "Parts of it almost sounds like Ravel. It's very sensitive and sensual; it's a lot more sophisticated."

The plot is as outrageous as the music is refined.

Silliness ensues when Countess Adèle sequesters herself in her castle while her valiant brother is away on a crusade. In his absence, the would-be seducer Count Ory stops at nothing (including disguising himself as a nun) to gain entry to the castle and woo the virtuous countess.

"It's slapstick and silly with mistaken identities," Barrese added.

The count serves as an antihero similar to Mozart's "Don Giovanni," minus the gravitas.

"All the women in there are alone because the men are off at war," Barrese said. "He sees this as the perfect opportunity, but he keeps getting caught. He doesn't ever learn his lesson. He's a count and he's young and he wants to be with a lot of women and he keeps failing."

All the women have taken a vow of chastity.

The opera features an experienced cast.

Lindsay Ohse, who plays Countess Adéle, sang with OSW in "Don Giovanni" and "Norma." Christopher Bozeka, who sings the role of the Count, has worked with Barrese since 2019.

"It's my dream cast," Barrese said. "I call them the Rossini all-stars."

A longtime Rossini champion, Barrese first fell in love with the composer's music when he was quite young.

"I was in high school," he said. "I was really into classical music, but I didn't know anything about opera."

Then the New England Conservatory put on a student production of "The Barber of Seville."

"I was blown away by how funny it was and how infectious it was," Barrese said. "Rossini has this rhythmic propulsion that's like a tsunami."

"Le comte Ory" is the 11th Rossini opera produced by OSW and Barrese. The opera was written in 1828 with a libretto by Eugéne Scribe and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson.

'Le Comte Ory'

Presented by Opera Southwest

WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, and Feb. 12; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10

WHERE: National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque Journal Theatre, 1701 Fourth St. SW

HOW MUCH: $15-$105 at operasouthwest.org, 505-724-4771; $5 tickets available for qualified low-income New Mexico residents through Opera for All initiative at operasouthwest.org/operas/opera-for-all