The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, Ħam 28 Nov 2024, Minn (2024/2024), Immexxi minn Emilio Sagi, Surmast Direttur Leonardo Sini, Teatro Regio, Turin, Italy

Certain weddings are “days of madness”, as the subtitle says for Le Nozze di Figaro—the funniest and most profoundly humane comic opera by Mozart and his librettist Da Ponte. Staging the opera was something of a challenge for them, as the story was taken from a French political and social satirical play that had been banned in Paris and Vienna. Ultimately, its debut in 1786 was only secured by the intervention of the Austrian emperor himself. To reassure him, all the scandalous elements were removed, leaving room for the expression of genuine passion through a series of arias and vocal ensembles of incomparable variety. This time round, Figaro—the celebrated barber of Seville—has to overcome snares and pitfalls to marry his beloved Susanna and keep her from falling into the clutches of Count Almaviva. Amidst misunderstandings, disguises, and twists and turns, the plot is an intricate one, making the linear direction of Emilio Sagi fundamental to enjoy the show at its best. This production, first staged at the Teatro Real in Madrid, features an eighteenth-century setting drenched in the rich light and fragrances of Andalusia. Specialists in late eighteenth-century repertoire have been cast in the leading roles, with Vito Priante and Monica Conesa starring as the Count and Countess, Giorgio Caoduro as Figaro, Giulia Semenzato as Susanna and Josè Maria Lo Monaco in the role of Cherubino. On the podium, Leonardo Sini, a young conductor from Sardinia, who has made a name for himself in the opera scene for his unfailingly solid and careful conducting.