Join us at the Glyndebourne Festival this week on the Sunday Opera (8/2 3:00 p.m.) for a perennial favorite, Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” which is subtitled “the Mad Day” or “the Day of Follies.”
“Figaro” premiered in Vienna in 1786 and was based on Beaumarchais’ comedy “A Day of Follies, or the Marriage of Figaro.” It is considered by many to be Mozart’s finest opera.
The title is quite accurate with it being a “day of follies” as the action does take place during one very hectic day as Figaro (Tommaso Barea) and Susanna (Johanna Wallroth) prepare for their wedding, but the complications begin almost immediately.
Susanna reveals that her boss, Count Almaviva (Huw Montague Rendall) wants to seduce her. Meanwhile, adding to the problems, Dr. Barolo’s (Alessandro Corbelli) housekeeper, Marcellina (Madeleine Shaw), tries to force Figaro to marry her over an unpaid debt
Things are further compounded by the Count’s pageboy Cherubino (Adele Charvet) gets caught flirting with just about every lady within eyesight.
The Countess (Louise Alder) and Susanna plot to trick the jealous Count. They dress Cherubino as a girl, leading to frantic “closet-hiding” and a surprise escape through a window.
A legal trial over Figaro's debt ends in a shock discovery: Figaro is actually Marcellina and Doctor Bartolo's long-lost son, allowing him to avoid the forced marriage (and the repayment of the debt).
In a dark garden at night, the Countess and Susanna switch clothes. The Count tries to woo who he thinks is Susanna (but is actually his own wife), gets caught in the act, and begs for forgiveness.
Riccardo Minasi conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
We’ve programmed another opera after “Figaro” where Mozart is not the composer but a character. Nicholai Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1897 one-act drama “Mozart und Salieri.” This two-character work is based on a verse play by Pushkin and may be where the idea that Salieri poisoned Mozart began. Salieri is performed by Theo Adam and Mozart by Peter Schreier. Marek Janowski conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Leipzig Radio Chorus. The pianist in this production is Peter Rosel.
