Der Barbier von Sevilla: Gioachino Rossini

In the organizer's words:

Puppetry master Nikolaus Habjan's rambunctious hinged-mouth puppets conquer the stage! In his acclaimed production at Theater Basel, everyone is drawn into the fast-paced, funny and sometimes darkly absurd confusion surrounding the barber Figaro. Nobody escapes the puppets - until the hilarious happy ending. A comedy for families as well as for a good evening with friends.
Figaro is not only the best barber in town, but also a playmaker, schemer and jack-of-all-trades. With calculated chaos and a variety of masquerades, he manages to free Rosina from the hands of her guardian Bartolo and bring her together with the handsome Count Almaviva.
Rossini's text was based on the Figaro trilogy by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. It has its origins in the French fairground theater of the 17th and 18th centuries, in which puppetry and the stereotypical characters of comedy were an important part. Rossini's music can be heard in a specially commissioned musical version by Peter Leipold. With instruments such as guitar, accordion and castanets, it captures the scenic wit and musical colors of the fairground theater for a chamber ensemble of the Hessian State Orchestra.
The ensemble of singers shows off its comedic talent by singing and puppeteering, while the puppets themselves increasingly take on a life of their own alongside their singing counterparts. The orchestra sits on the forestage very close to the audience and becomes a player in this production.