Bellevue resident to sing role in ‘Figaro’

Kim Cooney, a lyric tenor from Bellevue, will sing the role of Don Curcio in the Lyric Opera Northwest’s production of The Marriage of Figaro.

The comic opera in four acts was composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

It runs Thursday through Saturday, January 15-17, at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, at Meydenbauer Theatre in Bellevue.

Ticket prices for evening performances are $38/general admission, $34/seniors, and $30/students. They may be ordered from Brown Paper Tickets, online at www.brownpapertickets.com, or by phone at 800-838-3006.

Sung in Italian with orchestra, sets and costumes, this is another full-hearted labor by Lyric Opera Northwest, which bills itself as Seattle’s Traditional Opera Company.

The non-profit company is known for special casting and staging touches, incorporating a stilt walker in Carmen (2005), former sumo wrestler and award-winning Japanese dancer in Madama Butterfly (2006), international flamenco dancer in La Traviata (2007) and a bevy of ballerinas as the angels in Hansel & Gretel (2008).

Now, Figaro features the North American debut of the sensational 30-year old Chinese countertenor, Ma Xiao (pronounced “Ma Shaw) singing in the role of Cherubino in the Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17 evening performances.

A “countertenor” is a male singing full voice in the alto to soprano range. Ma Xiao is thought to be the first countertenor in China.

The full orchestra is led by maestro R. Joseph Scott, founder of the Bellevue Symphony.

Kim Cooney, a lyric tenor from Bellevue, will sing the role of Don Curcio in the Lyric Opera Northwest’s production of The Marriage of Figaro.

The comic opera in four acts was composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

It runs Thursday through Saturday, January 15-17, at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, at Meydenbauer Theatre in Bellevue.

Ticket prices for evening performances are $38/general admission, $34/seniors, and $30/students. They may be ordered from Brown Paper Tickets, online at www.brownpapertickets.com, or by phone at 800-838-3006.

Sung in Italian with orchestra, sets and costumes, this is another full-hearted labor by Lyric Opera Northwest, which bills itself as Seattle’s Traditional Opera Company.

The non-profit company is known for special casting and staging touches, incorporating a stilt walker in Carmen (2005), former sumo wrestler and award-winning Japanese dancer in Madama Butterfly (2006), international flamenco dancer in La Traviata (2007) and a bevy of ballerinas as the angels in Hansel & Gretel (2008).

Now, Figaro features the North American debut of the sensational 30-year old Chinese countertenor, Ma Xiao (pronounced “Ma Shaw) singing in the role of Cherubino in the Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17 evening performances.

A “countertenor” is a male singing full voice in the alto to soprano range. Ma Xiao is thought to be the first countertenor in China.

The full orchestra is led by maestro R. Joseph Scott, founder of the Bellevue Symphony.

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