Le nozze di Figaro

Although Count Almaviva likes to think of himself as an enlightened aristocrat, it is only when it comes to satisfying his sexual needs that he is a true libertine. Since none of the ladies of his own rank stimulate his desire any longer, the Countess’ chambermaid, Susanna, has now caught his roving eye, even though she is to marry Figaro, the count’s valet. In order to steal her from Figaro, the Count’s cunning plan is to employ two shady intrigants, Marcellina and Bartolo. But the Count’s most unexpected rival may well be the Countess’ young page Cherubino.

Long banned for its criticism of the privileges of the nobility, Le Mariage de Figaro premiered in Paris in 1784. Five years later, the Ancien Régime was abolished. Between these two dates, the “Figaro phenomenon” swept across Enlightenment Europe and found one of its most brilliant expressions in Mozart’s opera. Jetske Mijnssen places Le nozze di Figaro within this revolutionary context. Under the musical direction of Marta Gardolińska, her production reveals the smoking Rococo embers of an aristocratic era on the brink of collapse.