Le Nozze di Figaro

The secret of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is that, at its emotional core, the opera is less about the marriage of Figaro and Susanna, and more concerned with the marriage of the Count and Countess. First performed in Vienna in 1786, the work had strong literary foundations, inspired by Beaumarchais’ controversial play La folle journée, ou Le mariage de Figaro (Paris, 1784), cleverly adapted by the first-class Italian librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. The opera takes place during a “crazy day” when the servants Figaro and Susanna foil the efforts of Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna, and are finally wedded. The quick pace and comic rhythm owe much to Beaumarchais, as does the innovation to give women (the Countess and Susanna) the lead in devising the deceptions of the plot. Among the work’s highlights are two arias portraying love’s extremes: the adolescent impetuosity of Cherubino babbling tunefully of his love for all women in “Non so più”, and the moving “Porgi amor”, in which the neglected Countess prays to the god of love to restore her husband’s affections. Musically, the most original movements are the ensembles. Governed by the fast pace of the drama, Mozart drew on his symphonic techniques to provide the necessary cohesion and structure. Popular in its own time, Figaro is now a cornerstone of the operatic repertoire.