Figaro, Figaro, Figaro! A Night of Schemes Under the Stars
When Count Almaviva falls for the spirited Rosina, there’s one problem — her scheming guardian, Doctor Bartolo, wants to marry her himself. Enter Figaro, Seville’s legendary barber and master of chaos, who hatches a plan involving disguises, secret letters, and more schemes than anyone can keep straight. But Rosina isn’t waiting to be rescued — she’s the smartest one in the room. Rossini’s comic masterpiece is an explosion of bel canto brilliance, breakneck comedy, and irresistible melody, where love wins, the old fool loses, and the audience gets a world-class night under the stars.
production
Cast + crew
Justin Austin
Figaro
Aaron Crouch
Count Almaviva
Stephanie Doche
Rosina
Kevin Glavin
Bartolo
George Andguladze
Basilio
Catherin Meza
Berta
Zi Wang
Fiorello/Uficiale
UPClose
With The Cast &
Crew Of Lucia
Go behind the curtain with the artists bringing Lucia di Lammermoor to life.
01/03
A Message From
Interview with Arturo
Chancón-Cruz
Maria Todaro
stage director
Since 2024, Maria has served as CEO & General Director of Florida Grand Opera, the oldest performing arts institution in Florida, based in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. Under her leadership, the company has embarked on an ambitious artistic and organizational renaissance, expanding its community impact while reimagining the role of opera in the 21st century.
Maria is also the co-founder of the Hudson Valley International Festival of the Voice (formerly the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice), which she established in 2009 in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
A former opera singer and pianist herself, Maria brings a performer’s insight to every production and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of artists.
In 2026, Maria made her debut at the prestigious Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, serving as both Stage Director and Costume Designer for a new production of Tosca, presented in the composer’s hometown. In 2027, she will make her debut at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, directing a brand-new production of Norma, entirely conceived and designed by Maria Todaro.
Throughout her career, Maria has become known for productions that combine strong dramaturgy with bold visual storytelling.
Director's Notes
This is meant to be an invitation to travel in time — to visit the Carthage and Troy of Henry Purcell’s imagination, through his lavish seventeenth-century music.
In this Dido, we deliberately blur the limits of the fourth wall and invite the audience to participate, passively. The scenes will be set in a circle; the characters will emerge in front of you, surprise you, stand in the very center of the audience. Dido and Aeneas is the perfect work to offer that unique immersive experience — it is poetic, beautiful, complex, and yet it speaks of two people in love who must make a difficult decision, a very modern theme we can all recognize in ourselves.
Trinity Cathedral was the perfect setting for this experimental production, as its seating can be made flexible and modifiable, allowing enormous creativity in how and where the artists appear.
Come for a moment of sheer magic, amazement, and beauty. You will not forget this.
— Maria Todaro, General Director, Florida Grand Opera
A Note to Our Audience
The audience is required to wear white, beige, or very pale attire, for the production’s lighting design to have its full effect. Please also be advised that the performers will move through and perform in close proximity to the audience, and that the production uses an atmospheric water-vapor (haze) effect.
Production Details
ACT I
Count Almaviva is in love with Rosina, who lives under the watchful eye of her guardian, Doctor Bartolo. Bartolo plans to marry Rosina himself, so Almaviva hides his true identity and introduces himself to her as a poor young man named Lindoro, hoping she will love him for himself rather than his wealth and title.
Enter Figaro, Seville’s clever barber and a man who always has a plan. He agrees to help Almaviva reach Rosina. Meanwhile, Rosina has already fallen for “Lindoro” and is determined to escape Bartolo’s control.
Bartolo learns that Count Almaviva is interested in Rosina and decides he must marry her as soon as possible. Figaro has another idea: Almaviva disguises himself as a drunken soldier and demands to stay in Bartolo’s house. The plan quickly descends into chaos, attracting the police. Almaviva secretly reveals his true identity to an officer and avoids arrest, leaving Bartolo completely confused.
ACT II
Almaviva tries again, this time disguised as Don Alonso, a music teacher. He gains entrance to the house and uses Rosina’s music lesson as a chance to plan their escape. Figaro arrives to shave Bartolo and manages to steal the key to Rosina’s balcony.
The scheme begins to unravel when Rosina’s real music teacher, Don Basilio, unexpectedly appears. Almaviva bribes him to leave, but Bartolo soon realizes he has been tricked and throws Almaviva and Figaro out.
Bartolo then convinces Rosina that “Lindoro” has betrayed her. Heartbroken, she agrees to marry Bartolo instead. But when Almaviva returns, he finally reveals the truth: he is both Lindoro and Count Almaviva, and he genuinely loves her.
Rosina and Almaviva prepare to escape, but when a notary arrives to perform Rosina’s wedding to Bartolo, Figaro seizes the opportunity. The notary marries Rosina and Almaviva instead. Bartolo arrives too late to stop them and is forced to accept defeat.
Love wins and Figaro’s complicated plan somehow works.