The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, hAo 12 Beal 2017, Ó (2017/2017), Faoi stiúir Vyacheslav Starodubtsev, Seoltóir Mikahail Tatarnikov, Mikhailovsky Theater, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Vyacheslav Starodubtsev’s Mozart. The Marriage of Figaro is brimming with oriental motifs, which are reflected too in the acting style. Working on one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most important operas, the director has taken inspiration from the chinoiserie aesthetic that was so fashionable in European art of the late 18th century. This is a sophisticated offshoot of rococo style, drawing on the artistic traditions of Medieval China. Porcelain, coloured silks, sliding screens, and elegant tea houses tucked away in the depths of the garden were adopted as part of the European aristocratic lifestyle. Director Vyacheslav Starodubtsev makes no secret of the fact that visual content is just as critical for an opera director as the music. Along with production designers Zhanna Usacheva and Pyotr Okunev, he has decided to set the opera in a stately home, where oriental fashion not only has a bearing on the interior design, but also on the way of life.