Article as it appeared in the LEO newspaper!

Saturday, Feb. 13
‘Figaro’
Margaret Comstock Concert Hall
U of L’s Belknap Campus
Free; 7:30 p.m.

In 2007, U of L’s Michael Ramach embarked on an ambitious, cross-continental production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.” The cast and orchestra included Louisville students as well as members of the Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. Ramach looked to webcams and voice-over Internet protocol to help bridge the gap during rehearsals, and collapsible sets were designed to be more easily whisked through our local UPS hub. Cameras rolled as the two-city opera overcame cultural barriers and a tandem of conductors who didn’t always see eye-to-eye. The result is Dan Shaefer’s “Figaro.” Noting a lack of behind-the-scenes coverage in this performance-focused genre, producer/director Shaefer says he was motivated to show the building of an opera from the ground up. The 1 hour, 50 minute documentary will premiere Saturday at U of L. —J. Christian Walsh