WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791):
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO

Synopsis

The opera takes place in a manor house near Seville. Within this one house are numerous plots, much intrigue, and complicated relationships among the characters.

Overture

The delightful and bubbling overture is written in more or less in sonata form. Although the themes here are not repeated elsewhere in the opera, they are consistent with the music that follows.

Act I: The Room Assigned to Figaro and Susanna

Figaro is busy measuring the size of the room given to him and Susanna, his bride-to-be. Both are servants to the Count and Countess Almaviva, and they are preparing for their wedding. They sing an opening duet "Cinque, dieci". Although Figaro remarks that the room's location will make it easy for him to wait on his master, the more astute Susanna knows better. The proximity of the room to the Count's chambers will facilitate the Count's efforts to seduce her. In fact, he has already tried, exercising his right as the lord of the manor. This droit de Seigneur gave the master the right to deflower the brides of his feudal dependents. Figaro and Susanna sing a duet in which Susanna mocks the high and low bells of the Count and Countess ("Se a casa madama"). Figaro vows to seek revenge, singing: "Se vuol ballare, signor contino" ("If you wish to dance, my little Count"). Dr. Bartolo, still harboring a grudge against Figaro for outwitting him in Barber of Seville, appears with his former housekeeper, the aging Marcellina, who has her eyes on Figaro. Claiming that Figaro owes her money, she insists that he either repay or marry her. Susanna and Marcellina, rivals for Figaro's hand in marriage, exchange biting insults.

When Susanna returns to her room, the adolescent boy Cherubino enters in a rush. He confides in Susanna, confessing his love for all the women in the house, particularly the Countess. He describes his feeling in the endearing aria "Non so piu cosa son" ("I know not what I am doing"). The Count appears again, attempting to seduce Susanna. Cherubino quickly hides behind a large armchair. Basilio, the busy body music teacher, approaches, and the Count hides behind the same chair while Cherubino quickly sneaks around to the front to avoid discovery. Susanna covers him with a dress. Basilio tells Susanna that everyone knows about Cherubino's crush on the Countess. Overhearing the conversation, the Count can't restrain himself. Furious at what he has overheard, the Count steps forward in anger. In an ascending line that conveys his emotions, he demands an explanation. Just a short while ago he discovered Cherubino under a table flirting with Barbarina, and he demonstrates the way in which he lifted a tablecloth and found the lad. To his surprise, Cherubino is again hiding and has overheard his attempts to seduce Susanna.

Chasing Cherubino into the hall, the Count encounters Figaro and the entire household, who have assembled to sing praises of their master. The Count renounces his droit de Seigneur and blesses the marriage of Figaro and Susanna. Rather than performing the wedding on the spot, the Count postpones the ceremony until later in the day. In order to spite the crowd and to silence Cherubino, he orders the young lad to join the army immediately. Singing the mock military aria "Non piu andrai" ("Now your days of philandering are over"), Figaro ironically tells Cherubino what to expect – no flirting, no fancy clothes, no money – just cannons, bullets, marching, and mud.

Act II: The Countess' apartment

We meet Countess Rosina in her bedroom. Evoking great empathy from the audience, she sings of the happiness in her past and the loss of love in her present life. In the touching cavatina "Porgi amor" ("Love thou holy purest impulse") she prays that the Count's affection may be restored to her or that she can find escape in death. Encouraged by Figaro and Susanna, she agrees to set a trap for the Count. They will send Cherubino, disguised as Susanna, to a pre-arranged rendezvous with the Count that very night. Simultaneously they will make him believe that the Countess is having an affair with another man.

Cherubino enters, delighted to see the Countess again. He sings the simple and sentimental "Voi che sapete" "(What is this feeling?"), a portrayal of his youthful love. The Countess and Susanna begin dressing him as a girl. As Susanna arranges his costume, she sings the humorous aria "Venite, inginocchiatevi" ("Come, kneel down"). The Countess notices Cherubino's officer's commission, observing that the seal has been forgotten.

The Count knocks on the door. To his dismay, it is locked. At the sound of the knocking, Susanna steps into an adjoining room and Cherubino hides in the dressing room. The Countess opens the door for her husband. Hearing a sudden noise in the dressing room, he doubts his wife's claim that Susanna is inside. The three sing a trio that expresses their respective emotions – i.e. the Count's fury, his wife's terror, and Susanna's anxious assessment of the situation. Taking the Countess with him, the Count leaves in search of a crowbar to force open the door. As soon as they leave, Susanna enters the room and helps Cherubino escape through the window.

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Highlights of the Opera

• The Marriage of Figaro is an opera buffa in four acts. Mozart wrote the music and his frequent collaborator, Lorenzo da Ponte, wrote the libretto. The opera is based on the second comedy in Beaumarchais' trilogy of plays that appeared across a span of 20 years. Rossini's The Barber of Seville is based on the first comedy. To date, nobody has written an opera based on the third comedy, The Culpable Mother. Although the last play was never set to music, it does resolve questions that hang over Figaro. The Culpable Mother ends with the healing of a broken marriage, forgiveness, reconciliations, and the engagement of Leon, the Countess' son by Cherubino. Unfortunately, Cherubino dies, broken hearted and desperate, on the battlefield.
• Mozart took many liberties with the Beaumarchais play, particularly in the development of individual characters. Beaumarchais needed a third play to resolve some of the issues, while Mozart accomplished fuller emotional development within a single performance. The opera The Marriage of Figaro deals with love and what it might lead to; mature profligacy and romantic adolescent sensuality; love betrayed and love rewarded; tender devotion; possessiveness; and suspicion.
• The premiere of Figaro took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on May 1, 1786. Mozart himself conducted. It's not clear when the first performance took place in the United States. Some say it was in 1799 under the title The Follies of a Day. At a performance in English at the Park Theater in New York in 1824, the advertisement boasted the first performance in America. During the early part of the 19th century, English versions of the opera were very popular in the U.S. It was performed in Italian in 1858 and in German in 1862. The premiere at the Metropolitan Opera took place in 1894. The magnificent cast included Sopranos Emma Eames and Lillian Nordica. Edouard de Reszke sang the role of the Count. A new Met production in 1909, conducted by Gustave Mahler, featured, Geraldine Farrar as Cherubino.
• The opera disappeared from the stage of the Met after the 1917 season until a new production opened in 1940 with Ettore Panizza conducting Ezio Pinza, Elisabeth Rethberg, Bidu Sayao, and Rise Stevens. Since then, the ensemble nature of the opera as well as the appeal of each of the leading roles has attracted many leading singers.
• Figaro is considered to be one of the great masterpieces of comedy in music. The melodies have charm, perfect form, spontaneity, and apparent naivete, creating wonderful character and situation. The humor of Beaumarchais' play comes through. The libretto is top notch.

Recommended Reading

• Bolt, R. (2006). The Librettist of Venice.
• Braunbehrens, V. (1986). Mozart in Vienna.
• Brown-Montesano, Kristi (2007). Understanding the Women of Mozart's Operas.
• Gay, P. (1999). Mozart.
• Greenberg, R. (2002). The Operas of Mozart, Part 2 of 3, Lecture 14.
• Hildesheimer, W. (1982). Mozart.
• Kerman, J. (1988). Opera as Drama, rev.ed.
• Landon, H.C.R. (1990): 1791: Mozart's Last Year.
• Osborne, C. (1978). The Complete Operas of Mozart.
• Rushton, J. (1997). Le Nozze di Figaro in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Volume 3.
• Solomon, M. (1995). Mozart. A Life.
• Till, N. (1992). Mozart and the Enlightenment. Truth, Virtue and Beauty in Mozart's Operas.
• Wignall, H.J. (1991). In Mozart's Footsteps. A Travel Guide for Music Lovers.
• Wolff, C. (2012). Mozart at the Gateway to His Fortune.