Comic opera in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto - Lorenzo da Ponte based on the comic play "The Marriage of Figaro" by Pierre de Beaumarchais
First performance: 1 May 1786, Prague.
First performance in Bulgaria: 1911 by the Opera Society in Sofia under the conductorship of the Ruthenian musician Todor Hadjiev.
First performance in Ruse: 26 May 1966. Conductor - Mikhail Lefterov, director - Tsvetana Andreeva-Prohaska, artist - Petar Popov, choirmaster - Atanas Dimitrov.
Main characters:
Count Almaviva - baritone
Countess Rosina Almaviva, his wife - soprano
Susanna, maid to the Countess - soprano
Figaro, the Count's valet - bass-baritone
Kerubino, page to the Count - mezzo-soprano
Marcelina, Doctor Bartolo's housekeeper
Bartolo, J.D. - Bass
Basilio, lawyer and music teacher - tenor
Antonio, gardener - bass
Barbarina, daughter of Antonio - soprano
Peasants and servants in the Count's palace
Set in the castle of Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain, 1780.
First act
A modest room in the palace of Count Almaviva near Seville. The Count has offered this room to his valet Figaro on the occasion of his forthcoming wedding to Susanna, the Countess's maid. Figaro and Susanna swear by their recent happiness, but their joy is disturbed by the Count's incessant advances. She shares her misgivings with Figaro - the Count has probably assigned them this room near his bedroom for a reason. Surely he intends to seize the old feudal right of "master of the first marriage night." Figaro and he decides to fight for his honor.
The two lovers are looking forward to today's wedding. However, they also have enemies.
Doctor Bartolo hates Figaro terribly because he cannot forgive him for a previous "transgression" - he helped Almaviva marry his pupil Rosina, whom Bartolo himself wanted as his wife. The governess Marchelina is still waiting for Figaro to marry her. She often gave money to Figaro in exchange for a contract assuring Marchelina that if he did not return her money, he would take her as his wife. Now this contract comes to light. Doctor Bartolo supports Marcelina's hopes, who relies on more than just the contract.
She is convinced that the Count himself will thwart Figaro's wedding to Susanna - he is not indifferent to the lovely maid. Marchelina throws insulting barbs at Susanna, but her tongue is no less sharp and the governess, exasperated, walks away. The page Kerubino inserts himself upon Susanna. The young man immediately falls in love with every pretty woman. Kerubino is madly in love with the Countess, but now he is flirting with Susanna as well. He shares her worries. Last night he was with Barbarina, the daughter of Antonio the gardener, where the Count unexpectedly caught him. Irritated that Cerubino is courting Barbarina, the Count has banished him from the castle.
Now the page asks Susanna to help him leave it here. At that moment the Count's voice is heard and the frightened Cherubino hides behind the back of a large armchair. Wasting no time, Almaviva begins to woo the pretty maid, but just as he embraces her, Don Basilio enters. The extravagant schemer questions Susanna if she has already given in to the Count's advances, saying that he hopes the Countess will also give in to Cerubino's advances. Despite his continual amorous dalliances, Almaviva is stunned at the thought that his wife might also cheat on him and immediately pops out of his hiding place. He is surprised to discover the terrified Kerubino.
Seized with rage, Almaviva immediately sends to summon Figaro: let him see how the page has come to seduce his future wife! Figaro arrives, accompanied by a group of peasants. The cunning valet has brought his friends to sing a song of thanks to the Count for refusing him the right to the first night of marriage. Though reluctantly, Almaviva promises to fulfill the request of his serfs. When everyone leaves, Cerubino begs the Count not to banish him from the castle, but Almaviva is implacable - the page must leave his estate and join the army today.
Second act
In the Countess's bedroom. Countess Rosina mourns the lost love of her husband. Susanna, who is sincerely devoted to her mistress, tells her of the Count's constant advances. Figaro arrives. He reveals his plan how to regain the Count's love for his wife. He will send a love letter on the Countess's behalf to some imaginary admirer of hers, to fall into Basilio's hands. Thus the artful schemer will deliver it to Almaviva.
In the letter, the Countess is to set her lover an appointment in the garden. Susanna must seemingly give in to the Count's insistence and set him an appointment at the same place and time, and it is there that Kerubino, disguised as a girl, must go instead of Susanna. Figaro goes to prepare the letter, and the Countess and Susanna get busy dressing Kerubino. Even before the page has changed, there is a knock at the door. It is the Count of Almaviva. Embarrassed, the women hide Kerubino in the next room.
The Count had already received his wife's note. Now the locked room further increases his suspicions. He demands an explanation from his wife, and when he discovers the door is locked, he is seized with real rage. When he asks who is inside, Rosina embarrassedly replies that Susanna is there, but refuses to unlock the door. Almaviva then decides to break down the door. To prevent his wife from letting whoever is inside in, the Count takes her with him and goes for tools. As soon as the two exit, Susanna slips out from behind the curtain and lets Kerubino in, who jumps out of the window, and she enters the room and locks herself in.
Almaviva returns and immediately sets about opening the door, but much to his and his wife's amazement, it is indeed Susanna who comes out of the room. The embarrassed Almaviva asks for forgiveness from his wife. For her part, Rosina confesses to him that the letter he received about some meeting of hers was only a joke. Figaro arrives and asks his master for permission to begin the wedding party. At that moment Antonio the gardener enters. He tells how he saw someone jumping from the window and shows a broken pot. Figaro says that he jumped from the window himself because he did not want to be boiled in the same room as Susanna before the wedding.
Antonio insists that another man broke the pot, and pulls out a piece of paper that had fallen out of the runner's pocket. The Count grabs it and asks his servant to tell what the lost note says. Looking at the signs made to him by the two women, the inquisitive Figaro discovers who has jumped and what he may have lost. It is Cherubino's appointment to the regiment, which the page himself has given him to put his stamp on. Marchelina, Doctor Bartolo and Don Basilio burst into the room. The governess demands justice from Count Almaviva: Figaro must either repay his debt to her or fulfill his promise by marrying her. She shows the contract that Figaro has signed. The Count orders that the wedding be postponed until the matter is settled by the court.
Third act
Hall in the palace of Almaviva. The Count is embarrassed by the mess in his home. Who is he to trust? Susanna comes and tells Almaviva that she agrees to his proposal to meet in the garden tonight. The Count indulges in happy thoughts about the forthcoming meeting. Susanna is also delighted, who on this occasion helps her mistress to avenge her unfaithful husband. The Countess Rosina herself will appear at the meeting in Susanna's dress.
Before Count Almaviva, Don Curzio is pleased to confirm what the court's decision must be. Figaro must either repay his debt to Marchelina or he must marry her. The Count is very pleased with the resolution of the matter, as it ruins Figaro and Susanna's wedding. To everyone's greatest surprise, however, an accident reveals that Figaro is in fact the governess's son.
The excited Marchelina embraces her long-lost son and points out his father, Doctor Bartolo. At that moment Susanna enters, sees her beloved in Marchelina's arms and becomes enraged. But soon everything becomes clear. Instead of one wedding there will be two, because Bartolo wishes to marry Marchelina. The Count agrees to begin the wedding festivities. Everyone rejoices.
Barbarina also takes part in the fun. She has brought Kerubino here, dressed in a woman's dress. Antonio has realised that this is the cross-dressing page and reports this to the Count. Almaviva again wants to expel the page, but Barbarina begs him to allow her to marry him: after all, the Count has promised to grant her every wish so many times when he has kissed her.
Though reluctantly, Almaviva agrees. Susanna approaches the Count unnoticed and drops a note into his hand, in which she specifies the place of their meeting that evening. The letter is pricked with a pin. Her Almaviva must return it in token of assent, Figaro sees the note handed over. He understands that it is about a meeting, but cannot know by which woman it is scheduled.
Fourth act
In the park of the palace. Late evening. The tearful Barbarina, lantern in hand, searches for the pin the Count gave her to give to Susanna, which she has dropped. The maiden encounters Figaro and in her despair tells him about the lost pin. This throws Figaro into real alarm: so it is Susanna who has set the Count's appointment. He vows cruel revenge on his unfaithful betrothed and hides in the bushes.
Unexpectedly, Kerubino appears. The page has come looking for Barbarina, and now he comes across the Countess wearing Susanna's dress. Thinking her the maid, he begins to flirt with her. At that moment, the Count approaches and, seeing the two of them talking intimately in the dark, approaches them unnoticed.
The enraged Count reaches out to strike him. However, he hits Figaro, who thought Susanna was in danger and rushed to her rescue. The Count takes "Susanna" into the dark pavilion. Figaro is approached by the supposed Countess. He recognizes the disguised Susanna, but hides this and begins to flirt with her. Susanna is convinced that Figaro is cheating on her and slaps him soundly. The two decide to continue the game for the Count to see. The noise they make causes Almaviva to leave the pavilion. He sees Figaro kissing "his wife" and raises a ruckus. The supposed Susanna emerges from the pavilion and the game is cleared up. But now everyone is here: the Marchelina, Doctor Bartolo, Don Basilio, and Barbarina... Now the Count must ask his wife's forgiveness. The Countess Rosina forgives him and everyone heads off for the wedding party...
"The Marriage of Figaro", one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most famous operatic works, bears the subtitle "One Foolish Day". The libretto is based on the text of Beaumarchais' play of the same title. This opera marked the beginning of Mozart's series of fruitful collaborations with the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte in the operas Don Giovanni and Thus Do All Women.
The public greeted the premiere with fervent enthusiasm on 1 May 1786 in Vienna, but the official critics and court musical authorities did not respond favourably to it. The opera was soon taken off the stage despite its great success. But in Prague, The Marriage of Figaro was greeted with genuine triumph. It became so popular among the citizens that its melodies were heard in the streets, in gardens, in pubs, in homes. These were the happiest hours of Mozart's life. From Prague, he writes: 'Today, everybody only talks about Figaro. Everybody plays, sings and whistles tunes from Figaro. No one goes to any other opera but Figaro.
Vienna Opera tenor Michael O'Kelly recalls, "I will never forget the first rehearsal with a full orchestra. Mozart was on stage - in a crimson cloak and a tall hat wrapped with gold galloons. He was showing the musicians of the orchestra the tempo. It is impossible to forget his slightly smiling face, on which the occasional rays of genius flashed. But it is impossible to describe, just as it is impossible to paint the bright rays of the sun... When the bass player Benucci sang "Naughty Boy", the impact resembled an electric shock. All the performers, overwhelmed by the feeling of admiration, shouted, "Bravo, maestro! Long live the great Mozart!" I thought that the musicians would not cease their applause, so loudly and continuously did they bang their bows on the consoles. The little man with frequent bows expressed his heartfelt gratitude..."
"The Marriage of Figaro is in four acts and reveals the anxieties of Count Almaviva, who is in love with Susanna, his wife's maid, Countess Rosina. Driven by his passion, he attempts to eventually seize his right to a first marriage night ("Jus primae noctis") and make Susanna his permanent concubine.
The story unfolds dynamically in a single day. The audience witnesses a truly maddening interweaving of storylines, with women and men pitted against each other, but all subject to the compelling laws of love. The plot is rich with both dramatic and comic situations. It is often said that The Marriage of Figaro has everything of human life. And this is because the whole story can be interpreted as a metaphor of the different stages of love.
The very young Cherubino and Barbarina burn in the fever of immature ardent love, the love of Susanna and Figaro has just blossomed in its most splendid apogee, the love of the Count and Countess bears the traces of time, which has extinguished her passion but given it depth, and in the couple of Marchelina and Doctor Bartolo we see the manifestations of mature love, which, as is surprisingly revealed during the action, has even already borne its fruit.
