The Mercury News

S.F. Opera readies pandemic-era production of ‘Barber of Seville’

- By Georgia Rowe

Arts presenters are coming up with myriad ways to return to live performanc­e, with none perhaps quite as innovative as San Francisco Opera’s new staging of “The Barber of Seville.”

Designed to be performed on a custom-built stage at the Marin Center, this ambitious production of Rossini’s comic opera opens this weekend for in-person performanc­es while adhering to strict pandemic guidelines.

Like the company’s recent presentati­ons of archival performanc­es streamed at Fort Mason, audiences will be in their cars, drive-in style. But the similariti­es end there. This is a live production, and director Matthew Ozawa says it’s something entirely new.

 ?? PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ?? Daniela Mack (as Rosina) and Alek Shrader (as Count Almaviva) in San Francisco Opera’s “Barber of Seville.”
The mobile set utilizes projection­s of San Francisco War Memorial Opera House’s exterior and interior.
A mobile stage constructe­d for S.F. Opera’s “The Barber of Seville” awaits drive-in performanc­es at Marin Center in San Rafael.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Daniela Mack (as Rosina) and Alek Shrader (as Count Almaviva) in San Francisco Opera’s “Barber of Seville.” The mobile set utilizes projection­s of San Francisco War Memorial Opera House’s exterior and interior. A mobile stage constructe­d for S.F. Opera’s “The Barber of Seville” awaits drive-in performanc­es at Marin Center in San Rafael.

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