Stage director of The Barber of Seville talks longevity in the arts
By Hannah Caparino, May 21 2026—
The Calgary Opera has completed its 2026/2027 season with the spring production of The Barber of Seville. The iconic opera was open to the Southern Jubilee Auditorium on April 18-24 and will be sure to have audiences rolling with laughter. The production’s Stage Director, Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan, spoke to the Gauntlet about the production and the opera’s ability to resonate for centuries.
The Calgary Opera will be working with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra to bring the town of Seville to life on one of Calgary’s biggest stages. Written in 1773, the play had grown into an opera that features music, lyrics and theatricality. Stepkowski Tarhan had been working with the cast and artists involved with the production, building a strong working relationship with them and taking the last two years to watch them develop.
“The role of the stage director is to collaborate with the artists on blocking, intention of the text that they are singing, talk about the relationships between the characters [and] sometimes the psychology behind it.” said Steptowski Tarhan.
With The Barber of Seville experiencing multiple interpretations over the years, the Calgary Opera team will be taking Calgary audiences on an emotional journey that is led by music and the human voice. Stepkowski Tarhan expressed how opera functions differently from a straight play or a musical.
“In an opera because there is a score and there’s music, you also have to adhere to the parameters of the music. Quite often in opera, it is about the magnificence of the human voice along with the orchestra.” said Stepkowski Tarhan, “It’s the marrying of intention [and the emotional journey, with the music.”
Opera has famously been considered as inaccessible but Stepkowski Tarhan had emphasized that opera, more specifically, the Barber of Seville, lays the foundation for modern-day comedies and sitcoms. The music, the physical comedy and the verbal comedy had made the show incredibly engaging and reinterpreted by some of the largest opera companies all over the world. For first time goers, the show is wrapped in the joy found in lighthearted village-life and community.
“So anybody who’s going to be coming to an opera for the first time, this is a really good one because within that […] comedy is a familiarity and a sense of community.” said Stepkowski Tarhan.
The community that is built within the audience is also the community that is found within the cast and crew members. Opera, like theatre, is a collaborative process that requires building a show from the ground up and for the audience to enjoy.
“I’m most excited for the faces leaving the theatre, after it’s all done and hopefully they’re all happy and beaming with delight” said Stepkowski Tarhan, “The intention of this opera is delight and to entertain and make people laugh. It is a comedy in the full sense of the word. […] So what the intention would be for people who have seen the opera before is to surprise them and delight them in some new way.”
“For those who are taking a chance and coming to an opera for the first time, I want for them to realize that it’s an artform that is completely accessible and completely enjoyable.” said Stepkowski Tarhan.
When talking about the timelessness of artwork, she explained how the popularity of pieces like Barber of Seville experience some form of longevity because of how the story and characters resonate with audiences. Despite mainstream popularity varying over time, taking a chance on emotionally charged stories are important to see what themes echo over time.
“They are still here and they’re still being performed, and that is worth checking out to see why.” said Stepkowski Tarhan.
For information, see the Calgary Opera website.