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The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Apollo Theatre,
Wed 28th and Sat 1st, 2001
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That the subject
matter of The Marriage of Figaro was very much to Mozart's taste is
evident in the relish with which he set it. For Beaumarchais' tale
of unbridled lust, frantic jealousy, intrigue, cross-dressing and
counter-cross-dressing, the composer produced some of his most brilliant
music - seething with melody, coruscatingly witty, and above all imbued
throughout with a real sense of fun. For though it was the piece's
socially subversive undertones which attracted the censorship of King
Louis XVI and delayed its first performance, to modern ears Figaro
has only two real themes: sex and fun.
Graham Vick's production, currently making its way round the country
with Glyndebourne touring opera, makes absolutely the most of these
two qualities. The unceasing comic, theatrical bustle begins even
before the curtain rises, transporting the audience at once into a
world ruled by light-hearted passion, where page-boys can creep into
their mistress's bedroom and make tender avowals, and where liveried
footmen, all propriety one moment, are stealing kisses from the serving
maids the next. Vick both capitalises on and accentuates the essential
levity of the piece: the pristine white set, with its walls of gauze,
not only increases the amusement when, one after the other, the characters
hide behind walls or doors, but also generates a sense of the claustrophobia
of a house so filled with eager eyes and ears that nothing can really
be kept secret, no matter what care is taken.
The splendid
costumes, for their part, together with some delightfully dainty stage-craft,
evoke the light-hearted gentility of the age admirably. Perhaps most
importantly, a scattering of highly original and frankly risquée
touches keeps the sexual theme of the piece firmly to the fore.
Louis Langrée's brisk, brittle, precise reading of the score
keeps the whole bubbling along suitably, and the singing is, of course,
uniformly excellent, especially from the ladies, whose voices contrast
and complement each other perfectly. Colette Delahunt's Susanna is
clear and sweet, with a delightful touch of cheekiness; Sinéad
Mulhern's Countess is wonderfully rich and sympathetic; Anne Mason's
strident Marcellina soars above both. Of the men, particularly entertaining
was Philip Sheffield, who made a splendidly comic, sinister Don Basilio.
This is a stylish and expertly executed production of a perennially
popular opera. But it also goes further, enhancing the natural bawdiness
and hilarity of the piece so as to create an evening of consummate
entertainment - one which offers something new to the most knowledgeable
of opera goers, and which at the same time makes a perfect introduction
for those new to the opera-house.
M.J.Rogers,
28 / 11 / 01
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