October 16, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AVA Opens Opera Season with a Mid-Century Modern Take on Classic Mozart Comedy
PHILADELPHIA – Oct. 16, 2025 – The Academy of Vocal Arts’ (AVA) 91st Opera Season begins with a mid-century modern Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, opening November 8, 2025, and running through December 2, 2025. The production marks the return of conductor Joseph Colaneri, stage director Tara Faircloth, and resident scenic designer Cameron Anderson.
Faircloth and Anderson boldly place this production circa 1960, at the cusp of the sexual revolution and a mass reinvention of societal norms. Weaved among Mediterranean resorts and vivid watercolors, the opera’s larger-than-life characters occupy a dreamlike dolce vita, complete with Wes Anderson-inspired wardrobes and storytelling through color. Within this world of mid-century elegance and excess, timeless themes of conflict between class, sex, and age take on new resonance: servants flirt with social mobility, lovers navigate shifting moral codes, and the older generation clings to a fading sense of decorum.
Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, with the libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, premiered at Vienna’s Burgtheater in 1786 and remains one of the most beloved and frequently performed operas in the repertoire. Based on Pierre Beaumarchais’ daring play and banned in its day for its critique of aristocratic privilege, the opera continues to resonate today with its blend of wit, intrigue, and humanity, all set to one of Mozart’s most memorable scores.
Set over the course of a single day, Le nozze di Figaro follows the clever barber-turned-valet, Figaro, and his fiancée Susanna as they navigate a whirlwind of mistaken identities, secret rendezvous, and romantic schemes to outwit their employer, the philandering Count Almaviva. With music that captures the full range of human emotion, from sparkling humor to aching tenderness, Mozart’s masterpiece has delighted audiences around the world for nearly 240 years.
Stage director Tara Faircloth expands on the opera’s timeless magic. “Le nozze di Figaro contains multitudes – a scathing commentary on failing social hierarchies, a farcical comedy of mistaken identity and slamming doors, an absolute love letter to love itself at all stages of life. It is, above all, brimming with some of the most heart-stirring music in the entire operatic repertoire.”
Le nozze di Figaro Performance Dates:
November 8, 5:00 p.m.
Opening Night Gala
AVA’s Helen Corning Warden Theater
1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
$750 – Premium Reserved Seating
November 11, 13 & 15, 7:30 PM
AVA’s Helen Corning Warden Theater
$105 – Premium Reserved Seating
$70 – General Admission
$25 – Young Professionals Performance on November 18th (ages 45 and under)
November 21, 6:00 PM
Delaware Valley University’s Life Sciences Building
700 East Butler Avenue, Doylestown, PA 18901
$150 – Premium Reserved Seating
$55 – General Admission
Free for Students
November 23, 4:00 PM
Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center
420 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015
For tickets to this performance, please call 610-758-2787.
$20 – General Admission
Free for Lehigh University students.
December 2, 7:30 PM
The Haverford School’s Centennial Hall
450 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041
$105 – Premium Reserved Seating
$70 – General Admission
$25 – Young Professionals (ages 45 and under)
$10 – Students (available via phone or in person only)
Tickets: Tickets for Le nozze di Figaro and Season Subscriptions are now available to the public for purchase. For more information, please visit AVA’s official website at avaopera.org or call 215-735-1685.
About the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA)
The mission of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) is to be the world’s premier institution for training young artists to become international opera soloists. Through rigorous instruction and coaching, and by presentations of Resident Artists from around the world in concerts, oratorios, public programs and fully staged professional opera productions, AVA trains artists with the high potential for career success while enriching lives in Philadelphia and beyond. Gifted singers come from throughout the world to seek the exceptional guidance and training that AVA offers. Admission is determined by competitive annual auditions. AVA is distinguished by its reputation for high-quality performances that are acclaimed by critics locally, nationally, and internationally. Each year AVA Resident Artists are presented in four or five fully staged opera productions accompanied by orchestra. Resident Artists are cast in leading roles that they will in all likelihood continue to perform for the rest of their careers. Learn more about AVA at avaopera.org.
More information about AVA, its programs, and AVA’s 90th Anniversary Season performances can be found online at avaopera.org or by calling (215) 735-1685.
Contact:
Andrew Rohe
Marketing & PR Manager
Academy of Vocal Arts
1920 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103}
Phone: (215) 735-1685
Email: arohe@avaopera.org
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