It is a constant challenge in opera: How do you breathe new life into ultra-familiar masterpieces like “The Barber of Seville” and “The Marriage of Figaro”?
The Aspen Opera Theater Center, a preprofessional training company that operates under the auspices of the Aspen Music Festival, has found an inventive answer.
It has packaged the two classics by Rossini and Mozart with contemporary composer John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles” in what it is calling the “Beaumarchais Opera Trilogy.”
The idea is simple. The three operas, though written in different eras by different composers, are all based on 18th-century plays by Beaumarchais that feature his most celebrated character — the ever-clever barber, Figaro.
“Sure as day, he is the life of the party in each of the operas,” said festival artistic adviser Asadour Santourian, who conceived the idea of performing the operas together.
Corigliano’s opera debuted in 1991 at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The opera theater center will present the third performance of a reduced version of the work that premiered at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis last summer.
The vital information: “The Barber of Seville,” conductor Josep Caballe-Domenech (July 15, 17 and 19), “The Marriage of Figaro,” conductor James Gaffigan (July 31, Aug. 2 and 4) and “The Ghosts of Versailles,” conductor Michael Christie (Aug. 19 and 21). 970-925-9042 or aspenmusic .
Here is a look at five other notable operatic offerings this summer.
“Orpheus in the Underworld,” July 3-Aug. 8, Central City Opera. The company presents its first-ever presentation of Jacques Offenbach’s comedic 1858 send-up of the myth of Orpheus. The work is considered to be the first full-length operetta, and a highlight is its celebrated can-can scene. 303-292-6700 or .
“Three Decembers,” July 10-Aug. 6, Central City Opera. This 2008 work, which follows the relationships in a dysfunctional family, is based on an unpublished play by Terrence McNally. It was created by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer — the same team responsible for “Moby-Dick,” which recently debuted in Dallas to considerable praise. 303-292-6700 or .
“Life is a Dream,” July 24 and 28 and Aug. 6, 12 and 19. Lewis Spratlan composed this opera in 1975-78, and it won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize based on partial performances at Amherst College and Harvard University. This will be the work’s much- delayed world premiere, with noted conductor Leonard Slatkin in the pit. 800-280-4654 or .
“The Ring Without Words,” Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, July 29 and 30. Veteran composer and conductor Lorin Maazel created a symphonic synthesis of Wagner’s great operatic cycle, “The Ring of the Nibelung,” condensing its 15 hours of music into a concert-length work. In this version, featuring soprano Jane Eaglen, some of the words have been restored. 303-449-1397 or colorado .
“Albert Herring,” July 31 and Aug. 4, 13, 18, 21 and 25, Santa Fe Opera. Santa Fe is presenting its first-ever production of this 1947 chamber opera, which ranks among Benjamin Britten’s masterpieces. Set amid the preparations for a May Day festival in a small English town, it shows the composer’s comic side. Famed soprano Christine Brewer stars as Lady Billows. 800-280-4654 or .
