As the orchestra dives into a bouncy, upbeat tune, the curtain rises on Edward Hanlon. He is crouched on his hands and knees center stage in what can hardly be called an ideal singing posture. But when Hanlon, a second-year opera specialist in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, opens his mouth to sing, his awkward posture doesn’t matter. The resonant opening of "The Marriage of Figaro" radiates from the stage throughout the theater, bathing all 1,400 of the Power Center’s seats in melody and vibrato.

There are no microphones at work here — this is opera. That means it’s the performers' jobs to project their voices all the way to the back row without electronic enhancement. And in Hanlon’s case, playing the title character in the University Opera Theatre’s production of "The Marriage of Figaro," the material he has to project is more than 200 years old and written in a language most Americans don’t understand.

This weekend, "Figaro" premieres at the Power Center for the Performing Arts. And at $9 for students, it’s a great opportunity to see a group of talented singers before they graduate and join their peers — Michigan alumni have gone on to perform with the Metropolitan Opera, Chanticleer and the San Francisco Opera, among others.

Composed by Mozart with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte back in 1786, "Figaro" still resonates with audiences, particularly young people.

"Sexual tensions, love (and) betrayal” are elements that occur in "Figaro," Hanlon explained, describing the interaction between characters in their mid-20s. Audiences can look forward to comic confusion, mismatched period-slash-contemporary costumes (one character wears a pinstripe suit over his classical-era tights) and hot makeout scenes between hormonal characters.

Director Robert Swedberg, associate professor of voice in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, is no stranger to this opera. He has directed several opera productions, the most recent in Germany. He also starred as Figaro at California State University, Northridge.

Swedberg places a particular emphasis on the politics behind "The Marriage of Figaro." Premiering just a few years before the start of the French Revolution, this opera is sometimes assumed to be connected to France’s violent peasant uprising.

“('Figaro') presented a perspective that allowed for (the representation of) the servant class just as the servant classes of Europe were becoming restless," Swedberg said.

"Figaro" mocks the absurdity of extreme upper-class power, channeling political undertones that are even more meaningful in times of revolution and change. A main theme in "Figaro" is the Droit de Seigneur (a master’s legal right to sleep with his employee’s fiancée).

“(The Droit de Seigneur) can be compared to some of the corporate arrogance that we have (today) … you can still draw the parallel between Figaro and his master, and us and our masters,” Swedberg explained.

Revolution, excitement (in more than one sense) and love are all keywords for this work, which is often lauded as “the world’s most perfect opera” with its lush, multidimensional characterizations and its skillful balance of drama and music.

The plot of "The Marriage of Figaro" centers on its title character, a recently engaged servant whose fiancée, Susanna, has caught the eye of Figaro’s master, the Count, who is himself stuck in a rocky marriage. Figaro and Susanna must outwit the Count, who plans to execute his legal right to sleep with his employee Figaro’s bride-to-be on their wedding night.

The pair’s plight provides the opera with many laughs and ample subplots.