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An Interview with Bill Farlow, Stage Director for the Marriage of Figaro
You have a fine history with Des Moines Metro Opera. What about this company is the most exciting to you?
So many things! But perhaps the greatest is its continued commitment to discovering and fostering young singers. The company has launched many careers, including my own. A truly unbelievable range of repertoire over the years.
There are as many 'takes' on the staging/setting of any Mozart opera as there are directors working in the field. What about The Marriage of Figaro interests you the most as a Stage Director in terms of story telling?
The Marriage of Figaro is a perfect opera. What interests me most are the many varied and complicated personal relationships - husbands and wives, adolescent lovers, servant and master, and former loves reunited.
Tell us about how your life's path led you to opera and how you acquired those skills.
When I was an adolescent I began studying the violin. Piano and voice soon followed - then ballet in my late teens. In undergraduate school I became everyone's assistant which allowed me a huge amount of practical experience. All of this lead to a graduate degree in opera production and an career as a stage director.
What are some of your career highlights?
Turandot for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Beggar's Opera for the Canadian Opera, and Tristan und Isolde, for the Pittsburgh Opera.
Most recently, you have become involved teaching. How does operatic work in academia differ from the professional world of operatic production?
Actually I have always included teaching as part of my career. Schools offer me a far greater range of repertoire choices as well as the privilege of leading leading young singers through their first operatic experiences.
If you hadn't become involved in an opera career, what would you would have become?
A dancer/choreographer.
What is the most difficult piece you have ever had to direct?
The world premiere of Maura Bosch's, Art and Desire.
What was your worst moment in the theatre?
A Merry Widow for a company in Northern California, which will remain nameless!
Tell us one thing nobody knows about you.
I spent over half of life trying to stop singing.
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