Laura Oakes' One Cool Thing: Minnesota Opera's "The Barber of Seville"

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Photo credit (Glimmerglas Festival, copyright Karli Cadel, courtesy of the Minnesota Opera)

Laura Oakes takes you to Italy, via the Minnesota Opera this week!  Their production of the Rossini classic "The Barber of Seville" runs November 9th-17th.

RELATED: See all of Laura's "One Cool Thing" articles here.

Q: What's your One Cool Thing for this week?

A: This week's One Cool Thing is the Minnesota Opera's "The Barber of Seville." It opens Saturday night at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, and is not to be missed if you've ever been curious about opera, but have never quite gotten yourself to one.

Q: What makes it Cool?

A: I think what makes it cool is the fact that the lead roles are played by a real-life married couple....Daniela Mack and Alek Shrader. They met onstage in a production of Cinderella 12 years ago. She was Cinderella and, yes, he was her Prince Charming! They've been married for 8 years and have a toddler at home. Daniela knew early on she wanted to study opera and that it was going to be her focus in college. Alek wanted nothing to do with singing, having grown up in a family where both of his parents were opera singers. He caught the bug a little later than most performers do, and now can't imagine doing anything else.

Q:  Why is The Barber of Seville a good first opera?

Photo credit (Glimmerglas Festival, copyright Karli Cadel, courtesy of the Minnesota Opera)

Laura Oakes' One Cool Thing: Minnesota Opera's "The Barber of Seville" 1

Photo credit (Glimmerglas Festival, copyright Karli Cadel, courtesy of the Minnesota Opera)

Laura Oakes' One Cool Thing: Minnesota Opera's "The Barber of Seville" 2

Photo credit (Glimmerglas Festival, copyright Karli Cadel, courtesy of the Minnesota Opera)

Laura Oakes' One Cool Thing: Minnesota Opera's "The Barber of Seville" 3

Photo credit (Courtesy of the Minnesota Opera)

Laura Oakes' One Cool Thing: Minnesota Opera's "The Barber of Seville" 4