Seattle Opera presents The Marriage of Figaro at Marian Oliver McGraw Hall May 2-16. The 2008-2009 season is dedicated to Speight Jenkins in celebration of his 25th anniversary as general director. Last seen in Seattle in 1997 and you are invited to the wedding.
Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro was first performed on May 1, 1786 a little over two years after the highly successful premiere of Beaumarchais's play Le Marriage de Figaro. Mozart had read through 100 plays, he complained without finding anything suitable, occasionally even embarking on a score. Suddenly the perfect play turned up-how perfect was only realized by fortunate posterity. But there were problems, not least the fact that the play had been banned as subversive by the Emperor-a fact that might have appealed to the business man in Mozart, for a banned play can always find an audience. For his librettist Mozart chose Lorenzo da Ponte, with whom he collaborated in two of his earlier operas, Idomeneo and Die Entfuhrung. These two operas, however, while showing musical genius, did not demonstrate a consistent dramatic skill, and the mastery and perfection of Figaro is totally unexpected.
For this Beaumarchais must take some of the credit, particularly for the situations and the characters. But Mozart transformed the rather superficial characters of the play into real human beings. He gave them passions, which previously had been merely frivolous inclinations and approached the opera from an emotional standpoint. Da Ponte and Mozart also departed from the original in omitting Figaro's more subversive remarks, although the tone of, say, "Se vuol ballare" is surely as revolutionary as the Emperor would have allowed.
Of all Mozart's operas Figaro seems the most natural, because it contains the most convincing characters. It also has the most vivid and unforgettable moments-the discovery of Cherubino hiding in the armchair, the emergence of Susanna from the dressing room, Figaro's reunion with his parents, and the arrival of the Countess at the end. But the opera abounds in complications and side issues, which makes it remarkably difficult to give an accurate account of the plot. Perhaps it is truer to life on that score. The play still works well in the theatre, but it is only the opera that wholly satisfies; at the end we even believe the Count's contrition to be genuine, and everybody's future happiness to be assured which we do not in the play.
The opera is a complicated story of mistaken identities, bright servants outwitting their masters, the usual battle of the sexes, cross-dressing, and a day's worth of comedy, craziness, and confusion which ends happily with a double wedding and the right couples united.
Couples: The Count and the Countess-Count Almaviva is a great ladies man, and
extremely jealous of his wife. Countess Rosina Almaviva adores her husband
despite his philandering and his jealousy.
Figaro and Susanna-Figaro is the Count's manservant and Susanna's fiancée. He owes Marcellina money and must marry her if he doesn't pay up. Susanna, the Countess's adorable chambermaid, hopes to marry Figaro.
Dr. Bartolo and Marcellina-Dr. Bartolo is an old curmudgeon with a grudge against Figaro. Imagine his surprise when finds out he is Figaro's father. Marcellina is an old spinster who used to work for Dr. Bartolo. She calls off her wedding to Figaro when she finds out that she is his mother.
Cherubino and Barbarina-Cherubino is a teenage boy (sung by a woman), a page in the count's castle, who is having a hard time dealing with puberty. Barbarina is a teenage peasant girl with a crush on Cherubino.
The Others: Don Basilio is a scandal-monger, busybody, panderer, and music teacher.
Don Curzio-a judge, has a bad stutter.
Antonio-a tipsy old gardener, is Susanna's uncle and Barbarina's father.
Cherubino is the ultimate trouser role as explained by Perry Lorenzo, Seattle Opera's Artistic Director. Cherubino is perhaps the most charming of all opera characters. And part of the charm is that he is a teenage boy performed by a woman.
Opera is full of these kinds of roles. They are called "trouser" roles, "pants" roles, or "travesty" roles. Partly this is a way to stress the youth of the character while preserving a fully grown-up adult sound, partly this is a holdover of the days when many opera characters were sung by a different gender than the role or by a castrato; and partly this is a charming tradition that began its modern career in Mozart's Cherubino.
Cherubino, of course, is a character in the original Beaumarchais play le marriage de Figaro, itself a sequel to his play The Barber of Seville. When Lorenzo da Ponte and Mozart turned the Beaumarchais play into an opera, they created the operatic Cherubino as a mezzo-soprano role, who sings two lovely arias, a beautiful duet, and several complex ensembles. Mozart's Cherubino is so charming that later opera composers imitated him-notably Offenbach's Nicklausse in the Tales of Hoffman, Strauss's Composer in Ariadne and Naxos, and, of course, his Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. In fact, Octavian is directly based on Cherubino.
Cherubino sings two beautiful arias, "Non so piu" is the song of a love-struck adolescent boy, in love with every girl he sees, full of the pulse of throbbing desire and romantic confusion. "Voi che sapete" is an actual poem Cherubino has written to sing for his beloved Countess. Both are charming. Both, in fact, are charm itself.
Marriage is full of listener friendly, hummable music under the baton of Dean Williamson, with stage direction by Peter Kazaras, set design by Susan Benson, and costume designer Deborah Trout.
All major roles in this production are double cast. The role of Figaro is played by Oren Gradus and Nicolas Cavallier. Count Almaviva is played by Mariusz Kwiecien and Johannes Mannov. Countess Almaviva is played by Twyla Robinson and Jessica Jones. Susanna is played by Christine Brandes and Elizabeth Caballero. Cherubino is played by Daniela Sindram and Sarah Castle. Joyce Castle plays Marcellina. Arthur Woodley plays Dr. Bartolo. Ted Schmitz plays Don Basilio and Don Curzio. Barry Johnson plays Antonio. Leena Chopra plays Barbarina.
Wonderful entertainment for the whole family. Family day May 10th, student tickets $15. Tickets available from the usual outlets.
Congratulation to Sir Speight.
Preview Sund. Apr. 26 6:30 p.m. Highland Drive, in the party room of a condo and call 2828681 for details.
TTFN until next time.
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