About the Story...
If, my Lord, you want to dance then I will play the music. - Figaro, Act I, Scene II
The Marriage of Figaro is a sequel to The Barber of Seville, and recounts a single "crazy" day in the palace of the Count Almaviva. Rosina is now the Countess; her husband, the Count is seeking the favours of Susanna who is to be wed to her love, Figaro, the Count's valet.
When the Count detects the interest of the young page, Cherubino, in the Countess, he tries to get rid of Cherubino by giving him an officer's commission in his own regiment. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess conspire to embarrass the count and expose his infidelity.
Meanwhile Figaro is caught up in a dispute with Bartolo and Marcellina, which ends when he is revealed to be their son. At night, all find themselves in the palace grounds, where a comic series of mistaken identities results in the Count's humiliation and then forgiveness by the Countess.
Two years later, Mozart and Da Ponte's rewrite slipped through the net, playing to deliciously scandalised audiences throughout Europe. Sparks fly in the Almaviva household as servant is set against master, and wife against master. |
