Opera in NYC: Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro at The MetOpera
The Metropolitan Opera presents Le Nozze Di Figaro by Mozart in the modernized setting with two exceptional international casts; performances continue in February 2020
A cornerstone of any opera house’s repertoire, Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro is presented by the MetOpera in Sir Richard Eyre’s dynamic production with two exceptional casts. In the Fall 2019 sopranos Nadine Sierra and Susanna Phillips; mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez; baritone Mariusz Kwiecien; and bass-baritones Luca Pisaroni and Adam Plachetka sing. Sopranos Anita Hartig and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller; mezzo-soprano Marianne Crevasse; and bass-baritone Mariusz Kwiecien take the charge in February 2020.
Premiered at the Met in the 2014-2015 season, the current production transposes the action from the late 18th century Spain to an elegant villa of the 1930s. Cleverly employing the rotating stage for the fast change of the decor and uninterrupted action when moving from scene to scene, the creators and the cast present a highly entertaining and instructive storyline about the virtues of love, decency, loyalty, and the vice of jealousy. The orchestral fluidity under the baton of Antonella Manacorda, sets the pace.
The libretto for the opera was written by Mozart’s favored collaborator Lorenzo Da Ponte. Da Ponte adapted a popular play La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais for his libretto which he completed even before Mozart started writing music for the opera. Ingeniously sequencing the comic scenes with hidings and cross-dressings, Beaumarchais’s play denounces the feudal rules and highlights the wits and smarts of the lower classes. According to Beaumarchais’s contemporaries, the play foreshadowed the French Revolution.
At the MetOpera, Le Nozze’s magical music and catchy arias are delivered by the incredible cast with confidence and mastery. Luca Pisaroni as Figaro sings with grace and warmth and is perfectly attuned to the velvety palette of Nadine Serra’s voice as Susanna. The beauty of the duets and the ensemble arias are well-matched by the orchestral work while the comic scenes and the moments of tension are skillfully calibrated and are presented with vitality and affection.
Enjoy the vibrant production of the timeless masterpiece by Mozart and Da Ponte.
The opera’s run time is 3 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission; sung in Italian with the subtitles.
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