The Barber of Seville: an Electric Opera

Alright, so my last four posts have been about things happening at University of Portland! So what! It may be the last things I get to write about good old U.P.
Anyway, this time I have something truly incredible to share. A massive group of students from both the theatre and music departments (and elsewhere) have put together the first to acts of The Barber of Seville as an electric opera. I saw it on Sunday and was absolutely blown away! Now I like opera anyway, but an opera where the clarinet is played by a hammered organ, the violins and violas are played by guitars with string tone, the oboe is played by a guitar with the engaged wah pedal stepped out, etc. etc., it gets a little crazy! Not to mention how cool it is that all the characters look like they've stepped out of punk band/glam rock music videos.
Bobby Ray, a senior who played Figaro, took this project on as his baby this year, and I hope he is proud, because it was an enormous undertaking that turned out remarkably well! Steven Quirk as Count Almaviva and Danielle Larson as Rosina were great. Danielle can hit high notes like you wouldn't believe! Connor Bond was hilarious as Doctor Bartolo, especially in is Ozzy Osbourne get-up. My favorite song, though, belonged to Brittney Harris who played Bona Basilia. Something about her aria, "La Calunnia," just sounded amazing with rock music backing her up! Not to mention, she totally has the hottest costume!
Also, congratulations to the budding young theatres that my fellow students are getting off their feet. Two student project theatres were involved in this production; Portland Organic Theatre, and the Electric Opera Company. Incredible work, you guys! I'm so proud!
At any rate, I totally recommend checking it out if you are near the U.P. campus on Thursday. It's only a minimum of a dollar donation to get in, and believe me it will be a dollar well spent. The show begins at 7:30 on Thursday and runs about an hour and a half in the Mago Hunt Theatre.