On Sunday, May 6, the Rothfuss family performs a miniature version of the opera "The Marriage of Figaro" at Lycoming College in Clarke Chapel at 7:30 p.m. The concert benefits the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra.

Guy Rothfuss, tenor, grew up in Williamsport and graduated from Lycoming College in 1964. He went on to study at Westminster Choir College in Princeton and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He then studied in California, where he met the woman who would become his wife, Julia Kemp. During the pat 30 years, he has sung over 1400 performances in the opera houses of Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Munich, Frankfort, Barcelona, Covent Garden in London, and Vienna. Rothfuss established himself as Europe's premier tenor for modern operatic works.

He has sung at the famous Saltzburg Festivals, and recently appeared in Busoni's "Dr. Faust" at the Metropolitan Opera in NewYork. He is on the faculty of the Westminster Choir College.

Julia Kemp, soprano, was born in Harrisburg Pennsylvania and grew up in Oklahoma.

She graduated from Westminster Choir College, continuing her studies at the Curtis Institute and at the Academy of the West in California, where she was among the last students of legendary soprano Lotte Lehmann. For 23 years, she was the leading soprano with the German opera houses of Kiel and Osnabruck, singing over 1,000 performances of more than sixty different roles. She is now on the faculty of Westminster Choir College.

The Rothfuss children are following in their parents’ footsteps. Thirty-year-old Kristin Rothfuss earned her masters degree from University of Southern California. In March of 2000 she was proclaimed the "Young Artist of the Year" by the National Association of Teachers of Singing in Los Angelos. Kristin made her professional debut last summer singing the world premiere of On Gold Mountain in the Los Angeles Opera and in the fall she debuted with the San Jose Opera Company.

Katja Rothfuss, age 26, was born in Germany and grew up in Osnabruck. She made her opera debut at the age of eight. Upon completion of Gymnasium at the famous St. Angela's School in Haste, Germany, she attended Mansfield University and the Westminster Choir College. She made her American professional debut in 1998 singing with the Savannah Orchestra. She is currently teaching elementary music in the Abington School District.

Bryan, age 22, was born in Germany and grew up in Osnabruck. At the age of eight, he made his singing debut in the opera Jakob Lenz by Wolfgang Riehm. He graduated from Abington High School in 1997 and Susquehanna University in 2000 where he sang Tony in West Side Story, and participated in the concert Choir and the Chapel Choir. She spent his junior year studying voice with the world famous baritone Walter Berry and returned to Vienna in September to continue his voice studies.

"The Miniature Marriage of Figaro" is a one-hour narrated version of Mozart’s masterpiece. opera is a comedy about love, in which two young servants succeed in frustrating the lecherous designs of their master.

"Despite its setting in a social world that disappeared more than a century ago, the characters in the opera are recognizable today," says music department chairman

Gary Boerckel. "The perils of love and lust are timeless."

The opera will be held in Clarke Chapel on at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 6. Call the college box office at 321-4048 for ticket information. ###