Pride and Prejudice (2020)

Cast List
   ELIZABETH BENNET, second daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Bennett: Mezzo
   MR. DARCY, fiend of Mr. Bingley: Baritone
   JANE BENNET, eldest daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Bennet: Soprano
   MR. BINGLEY: Tenor
   MRS. BENNET: High soprano
   MR. BENNET: Bass
   MR. COLLINS, a clergyman: Bass-baritone
   LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH, Darcy's aunt: Contralto
   LYDIA, youngest daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Bennet: Soprano
   MR. WICKHAM, an officer in the militia: Baritone
   CHARLOTTE LUCAS, Elizabeth's intimate friend: Soprano
   MISS BINGLEY, sister of Mr. Bingley: Mezzo

Background
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So begins Jane Austen's novel, but 21st-century audiences may need to be reminded that in Austen's time, it was also true that a woman with no fortune needed to marry well, as there were few opportunities for her to make a living herself. The Bennets must find husbands for their daughters, who have no dowry. By law, Mr. Bennet's estate can be inherited only by the nearest male heir, the ridiculously pompous vicar Mr. Collins. We must also remind ourselves that in the England of 200 years ago, social classes were more distinct and immutable than they are today.

Story
A wealthy and single young man from London, Richard Bingley, has just moved into the Netherfield estate. At a ball he gives for his neighbors, Mrs. Bennet is overjoyed to see that Bingley is attracted to her eldest daughter, Jane. But her second daughter, the witty and independent Elizabeth, is slighted by Bingley's even wealthier friend, the proud and aristocratic Darcy. The spirited courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth — who at first cannot abide one another — is the main story of the opera. They not only misjudge each other, but are both victims of their own pride and prejudices. Only after much sparring and indignant misunderstandings do they come to recognize their own faults and true feelings, and can forgive themselves and each other.