The beautiful thing about The Marriage of Figaro is that, a couple centuries after it was written, it still holds up. Indeed – and differently from many other opera comedies, whose hijinks can feel forced and outdated to a contemporary audience – it can easily read as commentary on a number of topics our modern sensitivities are very preoccupied with: gender politics, the societal pressure to perform success in sex and relationships as a marker of one’s worth, the value of a long-lasting relationship over an exciting but shallow one, and so on. Probably because it is so modern, it is a work that benefits from a staging that touches as little as possible of its original framework: which this WNO production understands, and delivers with an excellent balance of the philological and the innovative. Staging and direction take most of their cues directly from the libretto, bringing the scenes to life exactly as they are described; the attention to detail in this sense will be especially appreciated by those who understand the original Italian (if one negative note is to be made, it is about the surtitles, which sometimes abridge the original a bit too much and lose some of its nuance in the process). Where the costumes are fully period, the backgrounds are much more stylised – and indeed growing in stylisation as the story progresses, with the final garden backdrop being almost abstract – and it feels like a nod to the opera’s being both fully a product of its times and still relatable for its present audience.
Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts and Giorgio Caoduro
Michael Mofidian and Christina Gansch
The Marriage of Figaro is not, however, just relatable or thought-provoking: first and foremost, it is funny. Also thanks to a smooth, confident performance from all cast members (this is an opera that requires a good dose of acting, and this high standard was delivered uniformly by the cast), the quickfire twist and turns and the many witty jokes all landed as they should have, eliciting genuine laughter from the audience and making the whole performance feel consistently lively. The stripped-down set and lack of visual quirks also meant that the performances had ample space to breathe: Michael Mofidian’s highly charismatic Figaro was delivered with the smooth confidence the character requires, and Christina Gansch as Susanna was nuanced, animated, and vocally strong, often feeling like the true protagonist of the story. Giorgio Caoduro delivered one of his better performances as the Count, leaning into the traditional, humorous interpretation of the role and supporting it with a smooth vocal performance capable of making what is a very difficult part feel much simpler; Chen Reiss as the Countess gave her character more confidence and personality than she is generally graced with, which helped make her stand out especially in the second half of the opera. Harriet Eyley was a lot of fun as the mischievous page Cherubino; Wyn Pencarreg, Julian Boyce, and Monika Sawa brought strong comedy chops and a precise musical delivery to their roles of Bartolo, Antonio, and Marcellina respectively. Even relatively minor parts were performed with acumen and precision, such as Eiry Price’s tongue-in-cheek Barbarina and Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts’ somewhat camp Don Basilio. Conductor Kerem Hasan worked very well with his singers; the faster exchanges felt perfectly timed and the more famous arias were given all the space they needed to breathe. Overall, from a technical standpoint this felt like a very confident performance, supported by acting which showed the level of understanding all performers had of their characters.
This is perhaps the greatest joy of The Marriage of Figaro: it is, like much of Mozart’s production, devilishly complicated, and much of its plot its rather contrived, but, just like its silver-tongued protagonist, it manages – or should manage – to sell its audience its rather unbelievable tale as if it was perfectly sensible and logical. This is no easy feat, but this production managed it in style, making for a thoroughly delightful night at the opera.
For tour details: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/figaro
