Amato Opera director, choosing the repertoire, rehearsing and conducting the operas. In the early productions, he often cast students from his opera classes at The America Theatre Wing, where he was the Director of the Opera Workshop. There was no admission charge for the company's early performances, because union rules prohibited it. Instead, during the intermission the Amatos would "pass the hat around" for contributions. Sally acted as costumier, ran lights and box office and managed publicity and business matters. Under the alias Serafina Bellantoni, she sang in productions for over fifty years. Their first production, Rossini's "The Barber of Seville", was
The Marriage of Figaro fly] To the desire of [the one] who adores you" (K. 577) in July 1789, and to replace "" he wrote "" – "A joyous emotion", (K. 579), probably in mid-1790. The voice types which appear in this table are those listed in the critical edition published in the "Neue Mozart-Ausgabe". In modern performance practice, Cherubino and Marcellina are usually assigned to mezzo-sopranos, and Figaro to a bass-baritone. "The Marriage of Figaro" continues the plot of "The Barber of Seville" several years later, and recounts a single "day of madness" () in the palace of Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain.