PL AYBILL THE BARBER OF SeVILLE
THE BARBER OF SeVILLE By Michael O’Brien, adapted from Beaumarchais Music by John Millard, adapted from Rossini
( France 1775 / rome 1816 / canada 1996 )
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a pproxim at e ru n ni ng t im e: 2 hou rs a nd 35 m i nu t es t h er e w ill be one 20 m i nu t e i n t er m ission
ARTIST NOTE: Leah Cherniak
BEAUMARCHAIS, THE LEGEND
The original writer of The Barber of Seville, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was the ultimate self-made man. An inventor, with unlimited skills in persuading and seducing, he was also a politician, a playwright, a man of letters, a musician, an arms dealer and a clockmaker. He taught harp to the daughters of King Louis XV, and spent time in jail. He was a philosopher and an adventurer – an insatiable artist and human being. I have spent the past six weeks with a group of insatiable, terrifically talented, inventive and musical actors. They embraced with delight the Beaumarchais story and the inspirational chaos that Michael O’Brien, the Playwright/Adaptor and John Millard, the Composer/Adaptor, further imbued into the story of Figaro, The Barber of Seville. There has been an endless well of generosity generated by everyone involved with this production. For a comedy, the attention to our work each day was surprisingly complex and serious. At the same time, I believe that the joy and zest that Beaumarchais had for life infiltrated our rehearsal hall, as well as the subversive undertones that rumble underneath this tale of love and class. We have had a very full and rich rehearsal process. Enjoy!
Some of Beaumarchais’ documented achievements almost defy credibility. Here’s a selected list of his larger-than-life accomplishments: • A n
invention to improve the accuracy of pocket watches
• A
design for the harp that is still in use today
• D iplomatic & espionage missions for Louis XV • G un-running
and arms dealing during both the French and American Revolutions
• R unning
a company that supplied drinking water to the city of Paris
• A n
expansive list of lovers
TIDBITS • N ow
sometimes called the most important French dramatist of the 18th century, a contemporaneous critic once said of him, “Beaumarchais will never achieve anything, not even mediocrity.”
• B arbers
of the medieval period were not only skilled at cutting hair, they were also the most common medical practitioners of the day. They performed general medicine, dental work and employed blood-letting to cure a range of diseases.
Leah Cherniak, Director of The Barber of Seville p roduc t ion s p on sor
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
CREATIVE TEAM
CAS T Dan Chameroy
Figaro
Lise Cormier
Sancho
Oliver Dennis
Don Bartolo
Raquel Duffy
Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster
Pancho, Padre Guitar
Accordion
Gregory Prest
Musicians:
Officer 1, Banjo
William Webster
Bass, Guitar, Mandolin
Rosina, Flute
Count Almaviva Don Basilio
Bertina
Daniel Williston
Tiina Kiik John Millard
Rob Clutton Rick Hyslop
Officer 2, Violin, Guitar
Production Leah Cherniak
Director
John Millard
Victoria Wallace
Costume Designer
Jason Hand
Composer/Adaptor & Music Director
Lighting Designer
Michael O'Brien
Sound Designer
Playwright/Adaptor
Ken MacKenzie
Set Designer
Michael Laird
Julia Aplin
Choreographer
Robert Harding
Stage Manager
Elizabeth McDermott
Simon Fon
Fight Director
Guillermo Verdecchia
Assistant Stage Manager
Dramaturg
Patricia O’Callaghan
Alexander Coach
Gregory Oh
Assistant Director
Vocal Coach
Rehearsal Pianist
Kelly McEvenue
Thomas Swayne
SOULPEPPER PRODUC T ION Jacqueline Robertson-Cull
Cutter
Dresser
Janet Pym
First Hand
Barbara Nowakowski
Greg Chambers Silvie Varone
Head of Hair & Makeup Wardrobe Coordinator
Geoff Hughes
Natalie Swiercz
Props Builders
s p e c i a l t h a n k s: you ng P e op l e's t h e at r e ( y p t ), s u s a n dic k s a n d c o.
The Barber of Seville was commissioned and premiered by Theatre Columbus (1996), Toronto.
i l l u s t r at ion : b r i a n r e a
Daniela Mazic
Scenic Painter
BACKGROUND NOTES
T
he Barber of Seville could be described as a collaborative classic. Like its original creator, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, it’s had quite a varied career. It began in 1775 as a 5-act comic opera that was a spectacular bomb on its opening night. The resourceful, energetic and undaunted playwright hunkered down, cut one act, removed all the music and re-launched it 2 days later to wild and enduring acclaim. No less than 3 operatic adaptations had already been done when Gioachino Rossini created his celebrated opera buffa version in 1816. The fourth time was the charm. Our Playwright/Adaptor Michael O’Brien likes to say that Beaumarchais created Barber, but Rossini made it immortal. Our version was first staged in 1996 by Theatre Columbus and it won the Dora Award that year for Best Musical. In their adaptation, O’Brien and director Leah Cherniak’s remarkable feat is to create a seamless amalgamation of Beaumarchais’ comic panache, Rossini’s buoyant richness and their own invention and sensibility. Set in the period, and dotted with modern anachronisms, the language is a vigorous mix of Beaumarchais’ day and today. Composer/Adaptor John Millard reinvented Rossini’s music, making witty, zestful use of accordion, stand-up bass, banjo and violin, among other instruments. The inspiration for the creators is pure classic comedy: vaudeville, Bugs Bunny and especially the Marx Brothers, whose cheeky subversion and inspired kookiness never entirely mask their political bite. O’Brien calls them quintessential mischief makers, wreaking gleeful havoc and then standing back, delighting in the mayhem.
As in the original production, Cherniak has very purposefully cast actors who can sing, performers who can be nimble within the setting – a fantastical world where French manners meet Spanish passion. This version mines the rich comic potential in the fixed nature of societal roles. And it lets us in on the machinations of the delicious Figaro, outsider, jack of all trades, hero, visionary, entrepreneur and artist, improviser extraordinaire. This comic everyman is an alter ego for Beaumarchais, himself an inventor, creator, sometime mountebank and convict, and full time charmer and confidence man. He drew Figaro’s infinite resourcefulness and optimism from his own nature. Figaro is a trickster: a beguiling charlatan, constantly cooking up brilliant schemes that don’t quite add up. Beaumarchais’ own luck was changeable too; he made and lost fortunes many times over.
What glows throughout this romp is the serious question underneath: How does, how can an anarchic, protean creative force like Figaro fit into society? Revisiting this classic and finding a contemporary spin has been, for O’Brien and Cherniak, an affirmation of the pleasure of theatre. We invite you to step into the embrace of this warm-hearted, generous play. You’re perfectly placed to glory in the mayhem.•
biographies PIERRE-AUGUSTIN CARON DE BEAUMARCHAIS – PLAYWRIGHT:
Born in 1732 to a watchmaker, this fantastically energetic, visionary polymath was by turns a playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, and satirist. His constant legal actions against more powerful people eventually cost him his fortune and place in society. He really only wrote two successful plays but considering his life, it’s amazing that he was able to sit still long enough to do so. GIOACHINO ROSSINI – COMPOSER: Born in 1792, “The Italian Mozart” came from a musical family. By the age of six he was playing professionally and by 20 he was a superstar. His version of Barber was said to have been written in three weeks. He retired at 38, devoting himself to cooking and eating and died of pneumonia in 1868. He was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery but his remains were removed to Italy in 1887. MICHAEL O’BRIEN – PLAYWRIGHT/ADAPTOR: Born on Saltspring Island and raised in Kirkland Lake and London, England, he graduated from the National Theatre School (as a playwright and director) and paid his dues travelling across Canada on the Fringe circuit. He’s written numerous plays for the stage and radio, notably his reinvention of Hamlet, called Mad Boy Chronicle, which was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award. JOHN MILLARD – COMPOSER/ADAPTOR: Born in Hamilton to a musical family, John is a musical adventurer who always returns to his roots in southern Ontario. He composes for theatres across the country, from the Shaw Festival to the Caravan Theatre in B.C. His influences are many and he’s open to everything from Tuvan throat singing to Macedonian wedding bands. He is a Resident Artist at Soulpepper, where he collaborates, creates and kibbitzes with artists across the disciplines.
Tidbits and Background Notes by Paula Wing
THANK YOU FOR AT TENDING!
416 866 8666 soulpepper.ca Young Centre for the Performing Arts Toronto Distillery Historic District
Soulpepper Theatre Company is an active member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (pact), the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (tapa) and Theatre Ontario, and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Scenic Artists and Props Builder/buyers employed by Soulpepper Theatre Company are represented by Local 828 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The musicians and music director engaged for this production are members of the Toronto Musicians’ Association, Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.•
Do stay in touch, and please pass the pepper!
SOULPEPPER THANKS
FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE • •