With one of the most famous overtures in musical history, Mozart’s 'The Marriage Of Figaro' is a tried and tested crowd-pleaser and Opera North did not disappoint. This opera – a 18th century Rom-Com – was both warm and funny from the start.
Figaro, a loyal servant to Count Almaviva, is buoyant and cheery on what is supposed to be the day of his wedding to Susanna, maid to Countess Almaviva. We meet both characters in the opening scenes and are immediately won over by Phillip Rhodes as Figaro and Fflur Wyn as Susanna. You want to know this happy couple for real such is their charm and wit and on-stage chemistry. Indeed the same will be said for all the characters we meet along this production – each and every one is very well rounded and individual which is remarkable for this type of opera which lends itself to cliché and square representation of stock characters. The casting for Opera North’s 'The Marriage Of Figaro' was an absolute success right down to the minor characters such as Antonio the Gardner, who was as Yorkshire as could be, and his daughter Barbarina both played by Jeremy Peaker and Alexandra Oomens respectively.
The story, originally in four acts, was in two halves tonight and although the first half was one hour and forty minutes, it romped by at a fast pace. The Count, Quirijn de Lang, has eyes on Susanna and wants to revive an old custom whereby a lord can sleep with any woman in his court on the night of her marriage, and he makes no qualms about making his intentions clear. This peril is further compounded by the appearance of Marcellina, Gaynor Keeble, who has a contract with Figaro – if he doesn’t pay her what he owes her, he must marry her. Marcellina has full intent to fulfil that contract, along with the help of her advisor Doctor Bartolo, Jonathan Best.
Figaro develops a plan but soon chaos ensues.
The English language translation by Jeremy Sams, in which it was sung this evening, is a clever translation that manages to combine a very natural use of English language with the needs of the music. The original Italian naturally contains a lot of vowels – particularly o and a. When sung, these create a warm and pleasant sound whereas in English we tend to be more consonant in our words, particularly at the endings. This can cause problems when translating lyrics - Sams mastered the translation, taking more than a few liberties which resulted in a perfect work. This did not feel translated in any way at all. Each and every word was understandable and perfectly sung to us by the cast making this production very enjoyable and easy to follow – a sure recommendation for those who are unfamiliar with opera.
The costumes, as ever with Opera North, were lush and lavish. The opera was set in a late Victorian, early Edwardian England and the attention to detail in terms of the set and costumes was outstanding. Never sufficed by simply doing a good job, there were layers of creativity in the visuals that made you ponder and ask questions – the beautiful wallpaper in the Count’s castle was shabby and ripped in places, boards were sticking through here and there. Was this symbolism or simply to provoke thought? I think that it added a touch of reality, rather than setting it in a plastic clichéd castle. This idea was certainly brought to us by the very real characters on stage.
It is hard to single out any of the cast - characterisation, singing, comedic effects and pace were on top form in this production. De Lang as the Count was a loveable villain who made right in the end, seeing the error of his ways. Cherubino, the page boy, played by Heather Lowe, was hilarious and naïve and sweet all at the same time. Lowe’s portrayal was a masterclass in physical comedy.
It was interesting to see that this opera had a strong female presence – while there is a clear, and perhaps typical, narrative of men trying to get their women, there is an equal amount of trickery by the women in the opera with the aim of getting the men they want. Male and female characters are equally strong – in fact they are equals. This was as Mozart wrote it, and I found this really refreshing.
James Hendry as conductor added an energy that was visible by the audience – the music carried on wonderfully with a sensitivity to the style and punctuated with Mozart’s humour. A real harpsichord, played by Antony Hermus, was used for the recitative parts to great effect – bringing the audience in to the more important sections of dialogue and narrative.
All in all, this was a flawless – indeed an elevated – production of 'The Marriage Of Figaro' which was visually stunning, beautifully sung (Maire Flavin’s unforgettable Dove Sono and a deliciously humorous Non Piu Andrai come to mind) and a laugh from start to finish.
If you love opera, you will love this, if you have never been – you couldn’t chose a better one to start with!
Reviewer - Aaron Loughrey
on - 10/3/20
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