The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro)

Synopsis

Count Almaviva lusts after the delicious Susanna, Figaro's bride to be. The neglected Countess pines for her husband's attentions and, as she tries to make him jealous, love and suspicion abound. Figaro must unravel the threads before he and Susanna can tie the knot. Also performed as Figaro's Wedding and Figaro!. First performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786

Our Review:

12 February 2012

The reputation of Le nozze di Figaro as ‘the perfect opera’  has always struck me as open to question. Musically it is a miracle, to be sure, but dramatically its slender plot suffers from a protractedness that borders on self-indulgence. With all the essential action done and dusted by the end of Act Three, only a special performance of Mozart and da Ponte’s first collaboration can prevent the final Act from feeling like a lame sequel. Happily, thanks to the lithe, meticulous musical direction of Sir Antonio Pappano, this revival of David McVicar’s vivacious 2006 production is one such occasion.

Sexily updated to the 1830s (hence no periwigs), McVicar and designer Tanya McCallin’s extravagantly-conceived Almaviva household bustles and buzzes to the rhythm of Mozart’s sunniest score. Some people, I know, take issue with the hyper-choreographed Overture; I cannot fathom why, though, because music and stage were never more as one than ...

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