THE ROYAL OPERA
Music Director
Director of Opera
Position of Music Director Maestro Antonio Pappano generously supported by Mrs Susan A. Olde OBE
Generous philanthropic support from Julia and Hans Rausing and an anonymous donor
The Marriage of Figaro
Opera in four acts
09.01.2022 17:00
APPROXIMATE TIMINGS
CREDITS
CAST
Alexandra Lowe and Michael Sikich are participating in the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme
Actors Michael Brazil, Lucy Brenchley, Kenneth Bryers, Kris Dillon, Jane Evers, Iliana Flade, Jamie Francis, Rich Gittins, Trevor Goldstein, Irene Hardy, Mette Nilsen, Anna-Marie Sullivan, Sirena Tocco, Daniel Vernan
EXTRA CHORUS
Sopranos Kathryn Jenkin, Deborah Peake-Jones, Eryl Royle, Emma Smith, Helen Withers
Mezzo-sopranos Amanda Baldwin, Clare McCaldin, Madeleine Mitchell, Miranda Westcott
Tenors Simon Davies, Lee Hickenbottom, Andrew Macnair, Tim Parker-Langston, Nicholas Sharratt
Basses John Bernays, Nigel Cliffe, Charbel Mattar, Olle Zetterström
SYNOPSIS
Count Almaviva lives with his Countess on their estate near Seville. The Count has his eye on his wife’s maid Susanna, who is about to marry the Count’s manservant, Figaro. The Count plans to seduce Susanna in the tradition of the droit de seigneur, whereby an aristocrat could bed any female servant on her wedding night. Figaro is not happy with this. Cherubino, the Count’s young page, has a crush on the Countess, who protects him. But the Count has just dismissed Cherubino from his service after the page was found with the gardener Antonio’s daughter, Barbarina.
ACTS I AND II
Susanna and Figaro prepare their new bedroom. Figaro decides he must foil his master’s attempt to seduce Susanna. Marcellina has a legal claim on Figaro and plots with Doctor Bartolo to prevent Figaro’s wedding. Cherubino comes to see Susanna in a panic, but hides when the Count arrives to solicit a meeting with Susanna that night. The Count hides when Don Basilio arrives to persuade Susanna to give in to the Count. Don Basilio gossips about Cherubino’s infatuation with the Countess. The Count angrily bursts out of hiding and discovers Cherubino. Into the confusion come Figaro and the entire household. They stage a scene to praise the Count for giving up the droit du seigneur. Annoyed, the Count prevaricates about Figaro’s wedding and tells Cherubino he must join the army at once.
In the Countess’s apartment, the Countess, Susanna and Figaro plan a trap for the Count, using Cherubino disguised as a woman. The Countess flirts with Cherubino, who locks himself in the dressing room when the Count unexpectedly turns up. The Count is suspicious and goes to find an axe with which to break the locked door. While he is away, Cherubino escapes, and Susanna takes his place in the dressing room to fool the Count. But Cherubino is seen escaping by Antonio. Figaro tries to explain everything, but his story seems increasingly far-fetched. Marcellina arrives with her claim, and the Count is delighted to have an excuse to stop Figaro’s wedding plans.
INTERVAL
ACT III AND IV
The Count is increasingly confused. Susanna and the Countess plan Susanna’s night-time assignation with the Count – with the Countess disguised as Susanna. At first, the Count falls for the trap, but a remark of Figaro’s makes him suspicious. Barbarina smuggles Cherubino back disguised as a girl. Marcellina drops her claim when she and her former lover Bartolo discover Figaro is their long-lost son. Cherubino is discovered and his earlier escape exposed. But Barbarina knows secrets with which to blackmail the Count and save Cherubino. The Count commands they all celebrate Figaro’s wedding, secretly expecting that he will meet Susanna later.
Figaro believes that Susanna is unfaithful and comes to the garden that night to get revenge, but eventually realizes the real plan of the Countess and Susanna. There are a succession of mistaken identities, confusions and misunderstandings. But out of them, the Count’s behaviour is finally exposed and he seeks the forgiveness of his wife.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
THE ROYAL OPERA
Patron
Music Director
Director of Opera
Director of Casting
Administrative Director
DIGITAL CAST SHEETS
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You can view the digital cast sheets on a computer, tablet or smartphone. You can also download and print the digital cast sheet. Check the digital cast sheet for the most up-to-date information before the performance starts, during the interval, or after the performance day.
Scan the QR codes displayed around the building with a smartphone to view the latest digital cast sheets. The cast sheets are also displayed on screens outside the auditoria.
Cast sheets generously supported by the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund.
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BERNARD HAITINK (1929–2021)
The Royal Opera dedicates this revival to the memory of Bernard Haitink, Music Director of the Royal Opera from 1987–2002.
Bernard Haitink was born in Amsterdam, studied violin and conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory and joined the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, first as a violinist and later as Principal Conductor, a position he held from 1957 until 1961. He went on to become the youngest ever Principal Conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra (1961–88), Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1967–79) and Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1977–88). He made his Royal Opera debut in 1977, when he conducted Don Giovanni and Lohengrin. In the same year, he received an honorary Knighthood, and in 2002, he was made an honorary Companion of Honour in recognition of his exceptional contribution to UK musical life,
Conducting highlights during his tenure as Music Director of The Royal Opera included new productions of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, Borodin’s Prince Igor, Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, and three Janáček operas including the first performances of Kát’a Kabanová at Covent Garden. Among other performances, Haitink also conducted revivals of Verdi’s Don Carlos and Britten’s Peter Grimes to great acclaim.
But it was perhaps as a Wagner interpreter he was best known with The Royal Opera. During his tenure he conducted two Ring cycles (directed by Götz Friedrich and Richard Jones), along with new productions of Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Tristan und Isolde. The Spectator described his 1988 Parsifal as ‘faultlessly paced… the ritual elements had true splendour’, while the Independent hailed ‘the glories of Bernard Haitink’s work with the orchestra’ in his 1995 interpretation of Götterdämmerung, and the Guardian considered his 1993 Meistersinger ‘the high point of his tenure’.
His final appearance as Music Director of The Royal Opera came in July 2002, when he conducted a gala of extracts from some of his favourite works, including The Marriage of Figaro.