The music of Mozart comes to the Bemidji stage in October, when Bemidji Opera Theater at Bemidji State University presents “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Opening October 18 for two nights, “The Marriage of Figaro” follows main characters Susanna and Figaro through the trials and tribulations surrounding their marriage. Along the way, they foil Count Almaviva’s efforts to seduce Susanna and teach him a valuable lesson about fidelity — with assistance from the Countess Rosina and an astonishing appearance by Figaro’s mother. “The Marriage of Figaro,” written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and was first performed in 1786, is widely considered one of the greatest operas ever written.

Dr. Cory Renbarger, professor of music at BSU and director of Bemidji Opera Theater, said he chose to bring “The Marriage of Figaro” to the stage for this year’s class of music students for a variety of reasons.

“The Marriage of Figaro is considered a quintessential opera, and it’s absolutely crucial to the operatic repertoire,” he said. “People know this music; I chose this because it’s something our students will want and need to know, and our community will see ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ and think ‘I want to see that.’ I want to give people a chance to see something great and to learn.”

Bemidji Opera Theater will perform the opera in English with a full orchestra. The show has been compressed from its normal run-time, and the setting has been tweaked but will still reflect the overall themes of the opera.

“Instead of Seville, this will look more like a dirty London,” Renbarger said. “It’ll still be in another time period, but a little dirtier, a little darker. It will still be the same relationships — the same aristocracy versus the peasant class, men versus women, those common Mozart themes — but it will be a little more of an industrial, Victorian age. It will still transport you to another time and place.”

For more information about this event please visit the Bemidji State University page.