The Marriage of Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s timeless opera The Marriage of Figaro is a look into human nature seen through the lenses of class struggle, sexual politics, and a universal desire for love. The second in a trilogy of stories by watchmaker, autodidact, music teacher, inventor, arms dealer, diplomat, publisher, revolutionary, and for the purposes of this review playwright, Pierre Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro (the play) was to be staged in 1781, but King Louis XVI upon hearing Figaro’s soliloquy deriding the nobility he forbade it from being produced in France. After a myriad of changes to the text, the play was put on in 1784 and soon after was a hit. Like Beaumarchais, Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte had to jump through many hoops to have the operatic adaptation staged in 1786.  The opera, which premiered in Vienna, was an instant success. The many attributes of Figaro, who was a fictional representation of Beaumarchais, was seen to many as not only the revolutionary ideal, but the epitome of the 19^th century man. Figaro was an upwardly mobile self-made man of intellect, cunning, and vision who longed for liberty so that he could achieve success based on talent, not birthright.

  It is easy to see why this classic story appeals to people of all ages and backgrounds. Unfortunately the production of The Marriage of Figaro that opened the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s season directed by Barbara Gaines, did not convey or embrace those tenets which made the work so loved. This production of Figaro was liberal in its translation, interpretation, sound, and vision. It seemed to ignore the developed characters of Beaumarchais’ play and lacked the warmth of Mozart’s music as a result of the emphasis on sexually explicit slapstick comedy. I’m afraid that Ms. Gaines’ attempt to produce a new take on Figaro resulted in the removal of the universal message of strife, love, and renewal.

 

Making his Lyric Opera debut in the role of Figaro was Czech Baritone, Adam Placetka. The young singer has already amassed a wide range of baritone roles such as Figaro in addition to Don Basilio, normally sung by a Bass, in Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’, to parts traditionally cast for more lyric voices like Count Almaviva, Don Giovanni, and Belcore in Donizetti’s ‘L’Elisir d’Amore’. Mr. Placetka has a well-rounded and virile tone that was consistent throughout the performance. He was able to sing the whole range of the role and had no problem with the dynamic shifts required rather than singing forte the whole night which some baritones may be tempted to do in such a large auditorium like the Civic Opera House. There were moments when his voice sounded a bit strained in the passaggio when singing forte over the orchestra, but those were few and far between. It is understandable that Mr. Plachetka was listed as a Bass-Baritone given the dark timbre of his voice, but when one hears the ease with which he sang in the upper register, especially when employing messa di voce, it is quite clear that he is closer to the lyric side of the baritone spectrum than the bass. Mr. Placetka’s voice sounds like a hybrid of Bryn Terfel’s color and Hermann Prey’s robust jubilance without the incessant warble of the former. He did become fatigued at times, understandably so given the amount of singing the role requires combined with being a 30 year old singer in a 3,500+ seat house. His acting was a bit stiff, but again opera is first and foremost an aural experience rather than a visual one.

  Also making her Lyric Opera debut as well as North American one in the role of Figaro’s bride to be, Susanna was German soprano Christiane Karg. Ms. Karg has a bright lyrical sound that is fresh and agile. She had no problem managing not only the vocal range, but the endurance needed for the role of Susanna as she is in nearly every scene at one point or another. Ms. Karg’s acting was relaxed and not over the top which counterbalanced the histrionic nature of the comprimario roles. Ms. Karg sounded her best in the third act duet with the Countess, “Sull’aria”, blending wonderfully with soprano Amanda Majeski as well as her moments with Rachel Frenkel singing the role of Cherubino. The one unsurprising criticism was the smaller size of Ms. Karg’s voice which at times would be drowned out by the orchestra or other singers as in the duet with Count Almaviva in the beginning of the third act. This repeated battle between voice size and orchestra volume begs the question as to why the Lyric Opera does not make either a concerted effort to not over power the soloists or, more preferably find an alternative performance space for 18^th century operas like ‘The Marriage of Figaro’.

Singing the role of the Countess was soprano and Illinois native, Amanda Majeski.  Before the opening curtain it was announced that Ms. Majeski was suffering from a cold evident in the Countesses first aria, Porgi, Amor, that opens act two, but she soon warmed up and sang with beauty of tone and flexibility. She did continue to have some strident moments during the latter act two ensembles when having to sing in the top of her range. Despite the difficulty of being under the weather, Ms. Majeski was able to give one of the better performances of the night and sounded better as the opera went on, unlike some of her colleagues. Ms. Majeski also looked at ease on the stage, rolling around on the enormous bed in the Countesses’ chambers.

The role of Count Almaviva was sung by internationally renowned Italian baritone, Luca Pisaroni who has performed at many of the world’s most well-known opera houses. Mr. Pisaroni has made a name for himself, not only in his vocal versatility, but the vibrant characterizations he brings to the operatic stage. Like Mr. Plachetka, Mr. Pisaroni is listed as a Bass-baritone and has sung both the roles of Figaro as well as Count Almaviva. With such a great reputation I was eager to hear him live. Unfortunately I didn’t feel that he lived up to the vocal part of what he has become known for. Mr. Pisaroni has a pleasant tone and sounds at ease when singing in the lower part of his range as well as the middle. He had no problem being heard in the large Civic Opera House and sang with a great deal of dynamic variation and sensitivity to the text. It was when he was required to sing in the passaggio for long phrases, such as in the Count’s demanding act three recitative and aria, Hai gia vinta la causa that Mr. Pisaroni began to sound tenuous and forced. It seems as though years of performing baritones roles that don’t require him to sing above D has done his upper range a disservice. The shining parts of Mr. Pisaroni’s performance were his natural personality, his ease on the stage, and commitment to the characterization given him by the director. He had no problem playing up comic moments and seemed to enjoy the role.

The part of the young love-sick page, Cherubino was sung by Israeli mezzo-soprano, Rachel Frenkel making her Lyric Opera debut. Ms. Frenkel has a beautiful round tone, but not too dark with brightness to it that epitomizes the type of mezzo-soprano voice for the role of Cherubino. She brought an unrestrained energy to the role of the teen-aged boy in heat, which at times compromised the vocal line with liberal straight tone as in Cherubino’s first aria, Non son piu. Like Mr. Pisaroni, she was at ease on the stage and seemed to enjoy inhabiting the characteristics of a pubescent heart-throb. Her voice was fluid throughout the entire range and had no trouble being heard over the orchestra and in ensembles. 

The comprimario parts of Marcellina, sung by mezzo-soprano Katharine Goeldner and Bartolo, sung by bass Brindley Sherratt were executed wonderfully. They came alive were great foils for the hopes of Figaro and Susanna, but didn’t go way over the top or take away from the action. The supporting tenor part of Basilio, the licentious singing teacher sung by Keith Jameson was nicely done with the right amount of tongue in cheek attitude and comic timing. The role of Don Curzio the stuttering lawyer, sung by tenor Jonathan Johnson was quite understated and almost forgettable as a character. I’d be curious whose decision it was to take down the comic aspect of that role. Ryan Center members Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi and Bradley Smoak sang the small supporting roles of Barbarina and her uncle, Antonio the gardener. Both had beautiful sounding voices with Mr. Smoak standing out in his time alongside both Figaro and the Count. If one of them fell ill I would be happy hearing him take over for the night.

The set design by James Noone was sparse at times, but comical as in the second act when we see the Countess lounging on an enormous bed that could easily sleep 3 rows of 15 people. The costumes by Susan Mickey were quite florid and over the top which caused a bit of confusion as well as consternation. At the beginning of the opera, Susanna was dressed in what looked like hot pants and garters before putting on a short blue ruffled dress that made her look like she was in an ad for a futuristic St. Paulie Girl beer. In the third act the female chorus members wore purple dresses and all had their hair done up in tower like configurations sticking out in three directions which was reminiscent of Pebbles Flintstone. The male chorus members were dressed in 18^th century styled violet paisley frock coats with feather lining around their necks and faux-hawk pompadours that made them look like a cross between Elton John and Liberace, but not in a good way.

The general areas where I found the most faults in the production were with the conducting, the directing, and the translation. Henrik Nanasi, making his American debut with the Lyric Opera, didn’t seem to take control of the musical aspect of the production. There were many moments of disorganization between the orchestra and singers throughout the first two acts. Many of the tempi were too fast for my liking, as in the case of the Countesses’ second aria, Dove sono. Mr. Nanasi, like many other conductors at the Lyric opera, failed to restrain the orchestra from covering some of the voices as was the case with Ms. Karg who voice, albeit beautiful, is on the smaller side for the Civic Opera house and was drowned out at times.

 

The general stage direction itself was fine. It was the specific actions and characterizations that went against the traditional interpretation that made the production not only confusing, but unrealistic. There was a general theme of man handing women without any type of consent. Cherubino incessantly groped Susanna, The Countess, Barbarina, as well as a chorus girl here and there.  The Count did not come across as an aristocrat with a diverse sexual appetite in the vein of the Vicomte de Valmont in the 18^th century epistolary novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses. Instead he was an ass-grabbing sex fiend with the decorum of drunken Frat boy on his 21^st birthday. He, like Cherubino, was constantly reaching up dresses whenever given the chance. This is more like the behavior you’d seen on the Benny Hill Show rather than that of a rich aristocrat in the late 1700’s who’s used to getting his own way. Even Figaro got in to the action when playing a prank on Susanna who was dressed up as the Countess. If this was Ms. Gaines’ comic sensibility, then perhaps Opera buffa is not for her. At one point during the Count’s third act aria, a group of chandeliers that were low to the ground are raised revealing to the audience two Greek statues, a man and a woman both half-naked. They’re strategically placed so that the male statue has its hand placed on the derriere of the female statue. The laughter from the audience covered the vocal line (which is what we came to hear) and took distracted from what the character was singing. The director’s staging continues with this gag as the Count pulls the two statues apart, for what reason she only knows, and does a disservice to the inner thoughts of the Count. With all of the Keystone Cop antics in this production along with the serial sexual assault, it’s a wonder why the Countess would ever think to forgive the Count. Ms. Gaines’ directoral vision made a mockery of the story and made the resolution unbelievable. 

 

The last of the three aspects of this production that were disappointing, to say the least, was the incredibly liberal translation that the Lyric Opera used in the subtitles. The english version shown above the stage was riddled with faults, from the inclusion of modern slang, to integral thoughts being left out as was the once again in the Count’s aria, Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro.

Like so many opera fans, The Marriage of Figaro is one of my favorite productions to hear, but the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s season opener, despite the indivdual highlights mentioned above, was disappointing and at times downright annoying. I am all for new ways to look at operatic staging, but not if it’s going to be take away from the original intent and replace Opera Buffa with boobie jokes stolen from Porky’s or The Bachelor Party.