Like so many opera aficionados Lawrence Vincent loves Mozart – in particular Le nozze di Figaro. And when Vincent, who directs the opera program at Brigham Young University, gets to stage it, he’s more than thrilled. “It’s one of my favorite operas,” he told Reichel Recommends in a phone interview.

Of course, it’s one thing for Vincent to want to do a specific opera; he also needs the voices – and Figaro calls for a large cast of leads. But he’s been lucky in that area. The last time he mounted a production of Figaro, back in 2007, he had soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen in the program. She went on to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2010 and has been making waves ever since on the global opera scene. “Rachel sang the Countess in our production,” Vincent said. “This December she’ll be making her Met debut in the same role.”

This time, Vincent has Rebecca Pedersen in the same role. Pedersen is another Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner who is poised to make a name for herself internationally. “Rebecca is so young and so amazing,” Vincent said.

He’s fortunate to be able to work with such strong young talent, since the opera department only accepts a few auditioners each year into the program. The ones who get selected are the cream of the crop. “My single most difficult problem is picking who gets in,” he said. “We have a hundred who audition, but only 10 are chosen.”

Once they’re in Vincent said it’s important to nurture their talent and develop it while allowing the program at the same time to be a valuable educational tool. “We have to serve them well. The main thing we have to do is teach students the vocal craft.”

It’s for that reason Vincent doesn’t modernize the settings of the operas he stages. “I want them to see how it is. It’s important to be true to the time and character of the operas.”

Vincent, who had a successful career as a professional opera singer in Europe before returning to the United States and becoming a member of the BYU school of music, said Mozart is extremely difficult to sing well. “As a singer you are so exposed, because the orchestral writing is so transparent. But if you’re in shape nothing is more rewarding.”

The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Some arias, mainly in Act IV, and some sections in the other three acts have been eliminated to keep the production from being overly long. “Three hours is a long time in this context, that’s why I decided to make these cuts,” Vincent said.

Le nozze di Figaro opens next week with a preview on Oct. 21. After that, the opera runs from Oct. 22-25. Start time is 7:30 p.m. and all performances take place in de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Building.

Singing on Oct. 22 and 24 are: Rebecca Pederson, Andrew Neumayer, Tyrell Wilde, Beverly Beverly Thompson, Annie Powell, Lennika Wright, Isaac Carlin, Ben Bird, Anna Romney and Dalan Guthrie.

For the Oct. 21, 23 and 25 performances the cast is as follows: Elisabeth Coleman, Jordan Reynolds, Ben Kramer, Paige Peterson, Elise Read, Dru Daniels, Cameron Mayo, Wayd Odle, Katie Armantrout and Jared Wells.

The performances on Oct. 24-25 will also be streamed live at www.streaming.byu.edu.

• PERFORMANCE DETAILS
• What: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro
• Venue: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University
• Time and Date: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 (preview), 22-25
• Tickets: $10 (preview), $18 general, $14 weeknights for students with I.D., $15 weekends for students with I.D., $16 weeknights for seniors and BYU alumni, $17 weekends for seniors and BYU alumni
• Phone: 801-422-4322
• Web: www.byuarts.com