Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro]

Mozart has an incredible variety of music as well as operatic themes and styles throughout his career. Below is a synopsis on his most famous opera, "The Marriage of Figaro".

"Marriage of Figaro" Overture

Act I

The Characters:

Count Almaviva

The Countess (the Count's wife, obviously)

Susanna, the Countess's maid

Figaro, the Count's valet

Cherubino, the Count's page

Marcellina, a wealthy old woman

Don Bartolo (or Doctor Bartolo), a physician from Seville

Don Basilio, a music teacher

Don Curzio, a lawyer

Antonio, the chief gardener

Barbarina, the gardener's daughter
 

The Story:

Set in the castle of Aguasfrescas, Figaro and Susanna are preparing for their wedding. Susanna happily is making her wedding veil while Figaro measures their new, spacious room given by the Count as a wedding present. While Figaro is busy measuring the length of the room to find a place for their wedding bed, their happy pre-nuptials are disturbed by what Susanna tells him. It turns out that the Count of late wants to have his old feudal right back (that is, the right of the lord to sleep with the bride before the wedding). Though the Count has been trying to seduce her, she assures Figaro that he has not been successful. They decide to outwit and humiliate the Count, thereby spoiling his plans.

Meanwhile Marcellina and Don Bartolo are scheming against Figaro. It turns out that in the Figaro in the past borrowed money from Marcellina which he has not yet repaid. Marcellina enlists Bartolo's help to legally force Figaro into marriage with her if he cannot come up with the money. Bartolo relishes this idea, since he could get revenge on Figaro for making a fool out of him back in Seville.

After Marcellina and Bartolo have left, Cherubino comes in on the scene. He is essencially a young teenager who has just hit puberty. He is suddenly enamored by women and can't think straight around them. According to the dictates of his hormones, he "loves" (or more rightly, "lusts") every woman he sees, including Susanna. As it turns out, Cherubino's flirting (and more serious relations) with the gardener's daughter has gotten him into trouble with the Count. The Count is determined to banish him, but Susanna promises she will try to get the Countess (Cherubino's godmother) to prevent this from happening.

While they are talking, the Count suddenly comes in and Cherubino hides behind the chair. Not knowing Cherubino is in the room, the Count tries to seduce Susanna unsuccessfully. When the music teacher, Basilio, enters the room, the Count, not wanting to be seen with Susanna, too hides behind the chair. Cherubino is able to scramble from behind the chair to in front of the chair only quick enough not to be seen. Susanna drapes a gown over the chair to hide him. The Count and Cherubino soon are revealed, however, and the Count is so enraged with Cherubino's behavior that he "promotes" him to the rank of officer just to exile him from the castle.

Act II

The act begins with a stirring aria from the Countess who mourns that the Count no longer loves her. Figaro tries to use the Countess's grief and probably her thirst for some justice to his advantage. Unknowing to the Countess, Figaro has informed the Count that the Countess is planning to meet her lover. Meanwhile, Susanna agrees to meet with the Count that evening, but she's planning to send Cherubino instead, dressed in her clothes.

While they are busy dressing Cherubino, Susanna goes off to find a suitable dress. This time the Count intrudes on the Countess's chambers, suspecting her lover is in there with her. Once again Cherubino manages to hide, this time in the closet, from the Count; but with the Countess's refusal to open the locked closet, the Count grows suspicious. With his demanding and the Countess's pleading, finally admitting to Cherubino being in the closet, the Count is thrown into a rage. A leaves the room with the Countess to find tools to break open the closet. While they are gone, Susanna (who has overheard the Count and Countess) races into the room, opens the closet and rushes to get Cherubino out. Since they can find no other way out, Cherubino rashly jumps from the window, but lands safely and runs away. Before the Count and Countess return, Susanna hides in the closet.

The Count, so certain and proud of his wife's supposed infidelity, is confused (along with the Countess) when Susanna and not Cherubino emerges instead. The Count pleads with his wife to forgive his suspicions and accusations, but soon forgets the need to forgive when Figaro arrives on the scene. He promptly accuses Figaro of sending the letter pertaining to the Countess's secret rendevous with her lover. Figaro denies it, even with the protests of the Countess and Susanna. Things become even more tense and suspicious when the gardener enters, swearing a man jumped from the window and landed in the garden. Figaro explains that it was actually he who jumped into the garden earlier, frightened by the Count's approach. The finale ends when Marcellina arrives with Bartolo and Curzio (the lawyer) to press her case: either Figaro pay the debt he owes or he must marry her.

Act III

Susanna falsely reassures that she will meet the Count in the garden, though the Countess now will go in her place. Meanwhile the legal dilemma imposed by Marcellina is resolved when it turns out Marcellina is Figaro's mother and Bartolo is his father. Marcellina and Bartolo finally decide to marry after all those years alongside their son and Susanna. When peasants come in, bringing the couples flowers for the wedding, the Count discovers Cherubino, disguised as a peasant girl. Barbarina, however, wheedles a favor out of the Count, allowing her to marry Cherubino.

During the marriage, Susanna slips a note to the Count, revealing the destination of their rendevous. It is sealed with a pin, a sign that she has accepted his intentions.

Act IV

It is the evening of the wedding, and Barbarina desperately searches for the pin which the Count intrusted to her to give to Susanna. When Figaro hears about Barbarina's story as well as discovering the pin, he instantly assumes that Susanna has betrayed him. He brings Bartolo and Basilio onto the scene so he might have witnesses to his new wife's infidelity. Susanna, however, has overheard Figaro's plan and plans to tease him. She sings a song which will cause him to grow more jealous, making him believe she eagerly awaits the count. By this time Susanna and the Countess have exchanged clothes.

Cherubino, mistaking the Countess for Susanna, teases her and tries to get a kiss from her. The Count arrives and scolds Cherubino, but quickly begins to romance the Countess, for he is as fooled as Cherubino. Meanwhile Figaro, watching the whole scene, pleads for the help of the Countess (Susanna in disguise). Figaro, however, quickly recognizes Susanna's voice and puts on a mock show of his love for the "Countess". The Count sees this and accuses his wife of being unfaithful. By the end, all their identities are revealed and the Countess pardons the Count. The opera ends with wedding festivities and celebration.

Questions about the Opera

There are few confusing or odd points about this opera which were standard in Mozart's day, but which seem foreign in the present. One of these points is the role of Cherubino. If you ever watch this opera being performed you'll notice that the role of Cherubino is being played by a woman. This seems really bizarre if you're close to the stage and you see Cherubino trying to romance Susanna, the Countess, or Barbarina. One of the reasons for this was in the early to mid-18th century young male operatic roles were played by castratos (I don't think I need a translation on this one). This practice, however, soon became obsolete and women adopted young male roles.

Another point in "The Marriage of Figaro" is it's link to a much later (and probably a more popular) opera, Rossini's "The Barber of Seville". Both these operas are taken from the same book, published just a few years in France before Mozart undertook the opera. The story in "The Barber of Seville" however, comes before "The Marriage of Figaro". It makes much more sense if you see Rossini's opera before Mozart's.

A Quick Synopsis on "The Barber of Seville"

I have included a quick synopsis on the story from "The Barber of Seville" just in case you don't have an opportunity to see it or read about it:

Doctor Bartolo has a young, headstrong ward, Rosina, who longs to get out, but who Bartolo keeps locked up. He hopes that she will consent to marry him so he could get her dowry. Count Almaviva, however, shows up. He saw her briefly when she was on vacation with Bartolo and followed her here, very much in love with her. He enlists the barber of Seville's (Figaro's) help in reaching her and eloping with her. After much scheming and charading and many different disguises the Count wins Rosina's love and they elope. Out of charity, however, the Count gives Bartolo the sum of Rosina's dowry since he doesn't need it.

Rosina, therefore, is the Countess in "The Marriage of Figaro". It's kind of sad, really, to see how much the Count loved her and then neglected her, choosing to chase after younger women. It's harder to see the Count as the romantic, idealistic "good guy" in "The Barber of Seville" after watching him, many years later, transformed into a sleazy, philandering Count.

My First Brush with "The Marriage of Figaro"

As strange as it now seems, I initially was not all that impressed with "Figaro". I bought the complete opera at a bargain price for CD's at some music shop in Chicago. When I first listened to it was in my dorm room at Loyola University. Although there was homework pressing, doors were slamming in the hallway, students were shouting and I was exhausted, I listened to all the music. It was hard for me to initially appreciate it since it was all being sung in Italian, so I couldn't understand what they were singing about. Like all Mozart music, however, the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. Within a month it ranked second to "The Magic Flute" as my favorite operatic music.

The vast range and style in this opera is superb with such melodic beauty, grace and charm that it seems impossible to rival. Once I was able to see a performance of it, I realized what a musical master he was. He shaded the action, the words, the conflict, the love, everything with complex and incredibly beautiful music. It was not in the grand opera halls either that I first saw it performed. I am not as rich as many opera goers, so I had to see a video recording. Even with a pair of ordinary headphones on, I must say that nothing can be as sublime as the finale to "Figaro". I have not heard the like of it, save in "The Magic Flute". What can I say? It is divine.


by K.A. Schure
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/2915/figaro.html