Busybody barber Figaro, Beaumarchais’s immortal figure who has been brought to life on the opera stage by so many composers – Mozart, Paisiello, Rossini, Milhaud – was rethought by the Swiss composer Christian Henking in a hilarious comedy. The music of his opera buffa literally rethinks the operatic tradition associated with Figaro, it cites virtually every related work and stylistically it encompasses almost everything from classical music avant-garde to hip-hop. The joint production of the theatre of Bienne in Switzerland and the Armel Opera Competition and Festival was presented in Switzerland this spring, to great acclaim. Now, the lead female role for the performance in the Liszt Academy’s Sir Georg Solti Chamber Hall is taken by Marion Grange, one of the rising stars on the French opera scene; the director is Andreas Zimmermann who is active both as theatre director and actor.