Le nozze di Figaro

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Work data
Title: the wedding of Figaro
Original title: Le nozze di Figaro
Poster for the world premiere

Poster for the world premiere

Shape: Opera buffa in four acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto : Lorenzo Da Ponte
Literary source: La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais
Premiere: May 1, 1786
Place of premiere: Vienna, Burgtheater
Playing time: about 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Castle of Count Almaviva, Aguasfrescas near Seville, around 1780
people
  • Count Almaviva ( baritone )
  • Countess Almaviva (Rosina) ( soprano )
  • Susanna, ward and maid of the countess, Figaro's fiancée (soprano)
  • Figaro, valet ( bass )
  • Cherubino, Page of the Count (soprano)
  • Marcellina, governor in the count's castle (soprano)
  • Bartolo, doctor from Seville (bass)
  • Basilio, music teacher of the Countess ( tenor )
  • Don Curzio, judge (tenor)
  • Barbarina, daughter of Antonio (soprano)
  • Antonio, gardener and Susanna's uncle, also father Barbarina (bass)
  • Two women (two sopranos)
  • Peasants, peasant women, peasant girls, hunters, court people, servants ( choir )
  • Bartolo / Antonio and Basilio / Curzio can each be taken over by one singer

Le nozze di Figaro , in German The Marriage of Figaro or Figaro's Wedding , is an opera buffa in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( KV  492). The Italian libretto is by Lorenzo Da Ponte and is based on the comedy La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro ( The Great Day or The Marriage of Figaro ) by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais from 1778. It was premiered by the Vienna Court Opera on May 1, 1786 in the Burgtheater on Michaelerplatz .

action

The opera was set at the palace of Count Almaviva in Aguasfrescas near Seville around 1780 . The plot is the continuation of Beaumarchais' play Le barbier de Séville ( The Barber of Seville ) from 1775, whose opera version Il barbiere di Siviglia by Giovanni Paisiello was played at the Vienna Court Opera since 1783. Rosina was an orphan at the Barbiere di Siviglia and in love with Count Almaviva. She is now married to him as Countess Almaviva. The former barber Figaro has taken up a position as the Count's valet. He is engaged to Susanna, the countess's chambermaid. Count Almaviva regrets having prematurely given up the Ius primae noctis and tries to win Susanna's love. When he discovers his lovable page Cherubino with her, he tries to get rid of him by transferring him to the army with the help of an officer's license. The doctor Bartolo and his housekeeper Marcellina also try to prevent the wedding. Marcellina has claims to Figaro herself, and Bartolo has not forgiven him for once thwarting his own plans with Rosina. At the start of the opera, Figaro prepares for his wedding to Susanna.

The scene division of the following table of contents is based on the information in the libretto of the world premiere. The classification in the autograph score and the New Mozart Edition differs from this.

first act

A not fully furnished room with an armchair in the middle

Scene 1–2. Figaro measures the room he wants to move into after the wedding with his bride Susanna to put the furniture. Susanna tries on a hat in front of the mirror (No. 1. Duettino Figaro / Susanna: “Cinque… dieci… venti… trenta…”). Figaro thinks it is an advantage that the room is next to the count's apartments (No. 2. Duettino Figaro / Susanna: “Se a caso madama”). Susanna explains to him that Count Almaviva could pursue his own plans towards her, that is, be interested in her. It could be that he has given the bride and groom this room. Figaro is now certain that Count Almaviva is interested in his fiancée. He wants to thwart the intentions of the aristocratic seducer (No. 3. Cavatine Figaros: "Se vuol ballare Signor Contino").

Scene 3-4. Dr. Bartolo, a doctor from Seville, appears with the housekeeper Marcellina. Figaro had borrowed money from Marcellina and promised her marriage if he did not repay it. That is now the case. Bartolo is supposed to bring the lawsuit against Figaro in order to thwart his marriage to Susanna. He likes to do this because he has not yet forgiven Figaro for his role at the Count's wedding with Rosina (No. 4. Bartolos' aria: “La vendetta, oh, la vendetta!”). Susanna approaches and gets into an argument with her rival Marcellina, who goes angrily (No. 5. Duettino Marcellina / Susanna: "Via resti servita, Madama brillante").

Cherubino hides in Susanna's armchair

Scene 5-8. The page Cherubino was dismissed by the count because he was caught on a rendezvous with the gardener's daughter Barbarina. But he does not want to leave the castle and therefore asks Susanna to intercede with the count. He would especially miss the girls (No. 6. Aria Cherubinos: “Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio”). When the Count appears, Cherubino is hiding. The count is courting Susanna. Shortly afterwards, Basilio, the Countess's music master, arrives and the Count is also looking for a hiding place. In the confusion, Cherubino jumps on the armchair and hides under a dress from Susanna. Basilio complains to her about the undecided behavior of the page towards the countess. The Count comes out of his hiding place to find out more (No. 7. Terzett Graf / Basilio / Susanna: "Cosa sento! Tosto andate"). A little later he discovers Cherubino under Susanna's dress. The only way to save the page from being punished by the jealous lord of the castle is by performing homage by the country folk (No. 8. [and No. 9.] chorus: “Giovani liete, fiori spargete”). But he only forgives him on condition that he joins the army. Figaro gives Cherubino good advice (No. 10. Figaro's aria: “Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso”).

Second act

A splendid room with an alcove, on the left in the background a door to the servants' rooms, on the side a window

Scene 1-3. The Countess laments the Count's infidelity (No. 11. Cavatine the Countess: “Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro”). Susanna tells her about the Count's advances. Figaro arrives and tells them about Marcellina's intrigues. But he has prepared a plan to turn everything back for the better: To incite the count's jealousy, he has sent him the message through Basilio that the countess wants to meet a lover that evening. In the next step, Susanna is to grant the count a rendezvous, to which Cherubino, disguised as a woman, will come. The Countess is supposed to catch them both and thereby force the Count to give in. Figaro leaves and the two women let the page in. Susanna first asks him to perform a song he wrote herself that he had shown her that morning (No. 12. Arietta Cherubinos: “Voi che sapete che cosa è amor”). Susanna takes Cherubino's coat off. She begins to comb him and teaches him to behave like a woman (No. 13. Aria Susannas: "Venite ... inginocchiatevi"). Then she leaves with his coat through a back door to get her dress for Cherubino.

Scene 4-9. The Count arrives and Cherubino flees to the neighboring dressing room. After the jealous Count has heard a noise from it, he wants to look. He doesn't believe the countess's assurances that Susanna is in it. So he leaves the room with the countess to lock Susanna's own door to be on the safe side and to fetch tools to break into the dressing room (No. 14. Terzett Graf / Countess / Susanna: “Susanna, or via, sortite”). Meanwhile, Susanna, who had previously come back unnoticed and was hiding in the alcove, slips into the dressing room and frees Cherubino from it (No. 15. Duettino Susanna / Cherubino: “Aprite, presto, aprite!”). He jumps out of the window into the garden. Count and Countess come back. The enraged count believes Cherubino has been hiding. To his astonishment, however, he only finds Susanna (No. 16. Finale: “Esci, ormai, garzon malnato!”).

Scene 10-11. Figaro fears that the Count could bother Susanna with his intrusiveness. He tries to keep him from appearing at his wedding by sending an anonymous letter. But when asked by the Countess, Figaro confesses to being the author of the letter. The gardener Antonio, Susanna's uncle and at the same time Barbarina's father, also brings a letter. He says it was dropped by a man who jumped out the window. To protect Cherubino, Figaro explains to have been to Susanna himself. However, the document turns out to be Cherubino's officer's license. Figaro is in a tight spot. But he excuses himself by claiming that he received the document so that the count could affix his missing seal.

Scene 12. Enter Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio, and Marcellina brings her lawsuit against Figaro. The wedding is postponed so the Count can investigate the allegation. This finale ends with an ensemble movement involving seven people. At the same time, “Che bel colpo” (Marcellina, Basilio, Bartolo, Graf) and “Son confusa” (Susanna, Countess, Figaro) will be heard.

Third act

A magnificent hall with two thrones, decorated for the wedding reception

Scene 1-4. The count is confused about the previous events. As previously agreed, Susanna agrees to meet him in the garden - but has previously agreed with the Countess that not Cherubino, but she herself will come in her place disguised (No. 17. Duettino Graf / Susanna: "Crudel! Perché finora farmi languir so? "). Susanna whispers to Figaro that success is now certain and his legal battle won. The count thinks that Susanna and Figaro have betrayed him. He intensifies himself in fantasies of revenge against his servant (No. 18. Aria of the Count: “Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro”).

Scene 5-6. It turns out that Figaro is Raffaello, the illegitimate son of Marcellina and Bartolo who was once kidnapped by robbers. Therefore, he cannot marry the housekeeper at all (No. 19. Sextet: "Riconosci in questo amplesso").

Scene 7. Barbarina persuades Cherubino to come with her disguised as a woman to give the countess flowers together with the other girls.

Scene 8. While the countess waits for Susanna, she complains about her lost happiness with her husband. But she confesses her love for him (No. 20. Recitative and aria by the Countess: “E Susanna non vien!” / “Dove sono i bei momenti”).

Scene 9. Antonio reveals to the Count that Cherubino has not left, but is in the castle in women's clothes.

Scene 10-12. Susanna tells the countess about her appointment with the count in the garden. The countess dictates a love letter that the girl is supposed to slip to the count. The count should send back the needle that holds the letter together to confirm receipt (No. 21. Duettino Countess / Susanna: “Che soave zeffiretto”). A choir of young peasant girls, among them the disguised Cherubino, serenaded the countess (No. 22. Choir: “Ricevete, o padroncina”). The count and Antonio join them. Antonio discovers the former page among the peasant girls. Count Almaviva flares up. Barbarina appeases him with her request to be allowed to marry Cherubino.

Scene 13-14. Figaro reminds the Count that it is time for the wedding dance. The fact that Cherubino has meanwhile admitted to jumping out of the window no longer matters. Figaro lets the wedding guests march in (No. 23. Finale: “Ecco la marcia, andiamo”). One is dancing. Susanna hands the count her letter. He sticks his finger with a needle, but quickly understands and invites everyone to the evening party. The guests thank him (chorus: “Amanti costanti, seguaci d'onor”).

Fourth act

Garden. Left and right a pavilion. night

Scene 1-4. Following the instructions in the letter, the Count sent Barbarina to Susanna with the needle. But Barbarina has lost the needle (No. 24. Cavatine Barbarinas: “L'ho perduta… me meschina”). Figaro learns the importance of the needle from Barbarina. He becomes jealous, tells his mother about it and swears vengeance. Marcellina does not believe in Susanna's infidelity (No. 25. Aria Marcellina: "Il capro e la capretta"). She decides to warn her.

Scene 5. Barbarina arrives in anticipation of a rendezvous with Cherubino. She disappears into the left pavilion.

Scene 6-8. Figaro persuaded Bartolo and Basilio to come into the garden with him to watch Susanna. He walks away briefly to make further preparations. Meanwhile, Basilio Bartolo explains his views on reason (No. 26. Basilio's aria: “In quegli anni in cui val poco”). Both go. Figaro returns and ponders the infidelity of women (No. 27. Recitative and Figaro's aria: “Tutto è disposto” - “Aprite un po 'quegli occhi”).

Scene 9-10. The Countess and Susanna come into the garden veiled, shortly afterwards Marcellina, who indicates that Figaro is watching them. Marcellina steps into the left pavilion, in which Barbarina is already. Susanna hides in order to overhear the rendezvous with the count. In her aria she sings about the impatience in which she waits for her lover (No. 28, recitative and Susanna's aria: “Giunse alfin il momento” - “Deh vieni non tardar, oh gioia bella”). Figaro thinks she means the count.

Scene 11-12. The countess appears in Susanna's clothes. Cherubino thinks she is Susanna and tries to kiss her (No. 29. Finale: “Pian pianin le andrò più presso”). The Count steps in so that Cherubino accidentally kisses him instead of the Countess. In return, the Count hits Cherubino, but unintentionally meets the listening Figaro. Cherubino and Figaro withdraw. The count meets the supposed Susanna and puts a ring on her finger. Observed by Figaro and the real Susanna, the disguised Countess invites the Count into the right pavilion. Figaro already thinks he can catch his bride inflagranti with the count. The real Susanna appears in the countess's clothes. Figaro tells her about the count's intentions towards his bride, but then recognizes her by the voice. He plays the comedy by paying her honor as a countess. He gets another slap, now from Susanna. Figaro and Susanna as Countess make peace, and he continues to play his part. When the count appears, he declares his love for the supposed countess and kneels in front of her. The count calls for weapons and his people. Lights are lit and general recognition relieves the count's confusion. He makes an apology. The countess forgives him. Just like the finale of the second act, the finale of the fourth act also ends with an ensemble singing, this time by everyone: “Ah! Tutti contenti “(Count, Countess, Figaro, Susanna, Curzio, Basilio, Antonio, Bartolo, Marcellina, Cherubino, Babarina).

layout

Music numbers

The following list of music numbers uses the count of the New Mozart Edition . In it, the repetition of choir No. 8 is listed as an independent No. 9 in contrast to older editions. The following numbers are therefore shifted by one compared to other editions.

The total of 28 musical numbers (not counting the repetition of choir no. 8) are linked by secco recitatives . 14 arias are juxtaposed with as many ensemble numbers.

  • Sinfonia

first act

  • No. 1. Duettino (Figaro, Susanna): “Cinque… dieci… venti… trenta…” - “Five, ten, twenty, thirty, thirty-six” (scene 1)
  • No. 2. Duettino (Figaro, Susanna): "Se a caso madama la notte ti chiama" - "Should you ring the countess of the night" (scene 1)
  • No. 3. Cavatine (Figaro): "Se vuol ballare Signor Contino" - "Will the countess dare to dare a dance" (scene 2)
  • No. 4. Aria (Bartolo): "La vendetta, oh, la vendetta" - "Sweet revenge, you grant high joys" (scene 3)
  • No. 5. Duettino (Marcellina, Susanna): “Via, resti servita, Madama brillante” - “Just forward, I ask, you sample of beauty” (scene 4)
  • No. 6. Aria (Cherubino): "Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio" - "New joys, new pains" (scene 5)
  • No. 7. Trio (Graf, Basilio, Susanna): “Cosa sento! Tosto andate ”-“ How? What do I hear? Immediately go "(scene 7)
  • No. 8 and No. 9. Choir: "Giovani liete, fiori spargete" - "Lively youth, sprinkle flowers for him" (scene 8)
  • No. 10. Aria (Figaro): "Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso" - "There, forget quiet supplication, sweet kissing" (scene 8)

Second act

  • No. 11. Cavatine (Countess): “Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro” - “Heil'ge Quelle pure instincts” (scene 1)
  • No. 12. Arietta (Cherubino): "Voi che wallpaper che cosa è amor" - "You who know the urges of the heart" (scene 3)
  • No. 13. Aria (Susanna): “Venite… inginocchiatevi” - “Come closer, kneel before me” (scene 3)
  • No. 14. Trio (Count, Countess, Susanna): “Susanna, or via, sortite” - “Well, well, will it happen soon? Susanna, come out! "(Scene 6)
  • No. 15. Duettino (Susanna, Cherubino): “Aprite, presto, aprite! - Open the door quickly "(scene 7)
  • No. 16. Finale: "Esci, ormai, garzon malnato!" - "Come out, crooked boy!" (Scene 8)

Third act

  • No. 17. Duettino (Graf, Susanna): “Crudel! Perché finora farmi languir so? "-" I've been languishing for so long "(scene 2)
  • No. 18. Recitative and aria (Graf): "Hai già vinta la causa!" - "Have you won the trial?"
    • "Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro" - "I should be without happiness" (scene 4)
  • No. 19. Sextet: "Riconosci in questo amplesso" - "Let my dear child call you" (scene 5)
  • No. 20. Recitative and aria (Countess): "E Susanna non vien!" - "And Susanna is not coming?"
    • "Dove sono i bei momenti" - "You disappeared only too fleetingly" (scene 8)
  • No. 21. Duettino (Countess, Susanna): “Che soave zeffiretto” - “When the gentle evening breezes” (scene 10)
  • No. 22. Choir: "Ricevete, o padroncina" - "Gracious Countess, these roses" (scene 11)
  • No. 23. Finale: “Ecco la marcia… andiamo” - “Let's march! All right! "(Scene 13)
    • Choir: "Amanti costanti, seguaci d'onor" - "Your faithful lovers, adorned with wreaths" (scene 14)

Fourth act

  • No. 24. Cavatine (Barbarina): "L'ho perduta ... me meschina!" - "Unfortunate little needle" (scene 1)
  • No. 25. Aria (Marcellina): "Il capro e la capretta" - "It ties in the hallways" (scene 4)
  • No. 26. Aria (Basilio): "In quegli anni in cui val poco" - "In the years when the voice" (scene 7)
  • No. 27. Recitative and aria (Figaro): "Tutto è disposto" - "Everything is correct"
    • “Aprite un po 'quegli occhi” - “Oh! open your eyes "(scene 8)
  • No. 28. Recitative and aria (Susanna): "Giunse alfin il momento" - "The hour is finally approaching"
    • "Deh vieni non tardar, o gioia bella" - "Don't wait any longer, beloved soul" (scene 10)
  • No. 29. Finale: "Pian pianin le andrò più presso" - "Quiet, just quiet, I want to approach" (scene 11)

Instrumentation

According to the New Mozart Edition , the orchestra provides the following instruments:

music

Despite the intricate plot, Le nozze di Figaro is generally regarded as the most successful and unproblematic of Mozart's great operas. It is his first opera buffa since La finta giardiniera, composed more than ten years earlier . Since its last completed full-length opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio , four years had passed. During this time, Mozart had mastered his skills through pioneering compositions, especially in the field of the piano concerto and the string quartet .

Compared to the Opere buffe of the previous years, enormous progress can be observed. Most of the originally drawn characters are story-telling. The events are not only carried forward in the recitatives, as was usual up to now, but also in the musical numbers. The characters are also essentially characterized in the arias and ensemble movements. In contrast to the conventional buffa opera with its absurdities, however , the Figaro is characterized by a "provocative realism" due to the complex, interwoven plot taken over from Beaumarchais. Mozart and Da Ponte process the political tensions and intrigues of the theatrical presentation as individual "relationships between acting people", "sensualize" and "emotionalize" them.

Ludwig Finscher pointed out in Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater that the orchestral and ensemble setting had matured to an unprecedented level and may never have been exceeded later. What is also striking is the accumulation of duets, which are consistently referred to here as "Duettino" - presumably because the servant Susanna is involved in all six of them. A love duet in the traditional sense is missing, however. In this way the authors avoided the servants Figaro / Susanna improperly assuming the function of the first lovers.

overture

The sinfonia ( overture ) should initially consist of three movements. Mozart originally composed a three-bar cadenza with a half-close after bar 134 of the first movement. This was followed by an Andante con moto in D minor, in the character of a Siciliano , of which the first bar has been preserved. The editors of the opera in the context of the New Mozart Edition assume a total length of the second movement of 16 bars. The entire sentence was crossed out by Mozart and removed from the autograph. Mozart combined the two remaining corner movements with a three-bar transition figure of the strings into a single movement.

Work history

Emergence

Tafel, Schulerstraße 8, Vienna-Innere Stadt , in which the work was created

The libretto of the opera is by Lorenzo Da Ponte and is based on the comedy La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro ( The Great Day or The Marriage of Figaro ) by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais from 1778. The satirist Johann Rautenstrauch wrote in early 1785 a German translation, which was to be performed on February 3, 1785 by the theater troupe Emanuel Schikaneder and Hubert Kumpfs in the Vienna Theater am Kärntnertor . The scandalous piece provoked problems with censorship. The aristocracy was openly criticized, the immorality of the count was depicted drastically, while the third estate represented by the servants Figaro and Susanna was upgraded. The censorship banned the planned performance, but at least released the piece for printing. On February 28, March 1 and March 2, the Wienerblättchen published excerpts from it, and a short time later the full text and another translation by an anonymous hand were published.

The origin of the opera can no longer be reliably reconstructed because the essential sources are lost or inaccessible. The autograph of the third and fourth acts has been lost since 1945, and Mozart's letters from the time of writing have also not survived. Above all, the letters Leopold Mozart to his daughter and the memoirs by the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and the singer Michael Kelly are available, but they have proven to be unreliable.

According to Da Pontes' memoirs, the idea of ​​setting Figaro to music came from Mozart himself. Despite the complicated plot, the piece is effective on the stage. It offered itself as a continuation of Giovanni Paisiello's opera Il barbiere di Siviglia for a performance in Vienna. Da Ponte wrote that he personally arranged for Emperor Joseph II to ensure that the opera could be performed in contrast to the theatrical presentation. Among other things, Mozart played some numbers for the emperor. Objections of the court theater director Franz Xaver Wolfgang von Orsini-Rosenberg and his favorite Giambattista Casti were finally overcome. Compared to the original, Da Ponte softened many morally questionable passages and left out some details that would hardly have been understood in Vienna. In contrast, he left political tensions largely unchanged. The language is less rhetorical, on the other hand more emotional and sensual, the plot easier to understand than with Beaumarchais.

Da Ponte notes that the piece was completed within six weeks. This information probably relates to a period between mid-October and November 1785 and does not include the instrumentation. Mozart first wrote the closed musical numbers, grouped according to their content, then the recitatives and finally the sinfonia (overture). It was not until April 29, 1786 that he entered the opera in his personal catalog raisonné. Mozart's fee was 450 guilders. Da Ponte received 200 guilders.

premiere

The premiere took place on May 1, 1786 by the Vienna Court Opera in the Burgtheater on Michaelerplatz . The best singers available in Vienna at the time were hired for this: Stefano Mandini (Count Almaviva), Luigia Laschi-Mombelli (Countess Almaviva), Nancy Storace (Susanna), Francesco Benucci (Figaro), Dorothea Bussani (Cherubino), Maria Mandini (Marcellina) , Francesco Bussani (Bartolo and Antonio), Michael Kelly (Basilio and Don Curzio) and the only twelve year old Anna Gottlieb (Barbarina). Mozart himself conducted the world premiere and the subsequent performance two days later from the harpsichord. The other performances were under the direction of Joseph Weigl .

According to the Wiener Realzeitung on July 11th, the later performances came off significantly better than the premiere, which “was not the best, [...] because the composition is very difficult.” Nevertheless, the early performances were so successful that because of the many The emperor had to intervene in the repetitions demanded: In order not to prolong the performances endlessly, no ensemble movements were allowed to be repeated after May 9th. Apparently there was also a group of opponents who u. a. in publications proclaimed that the opera was not liked. Soon, however, the audience lost interest. After the sensational success of Martín y Soler's Una cosa rara from November 17, 1786, Le nozze di Figaro was played only once. In 1786 there were only nine performances.

reception

Mozart celebrated a triumph with Figaro in the 1786/87 season in Prague , where this success was the reason for the commission to compose Don Giovanni . Until well into the 19th century, however, the opera was far less successful than Mozart's Magic Flute , Don Giovanni or La clemenza di Tito . In Italy in particular, it was barely popular. In German-speaking countries, translations with spoken dialogues instead of recitatives, which were often played by traveling groups, became widespread. The German premiere took place in this form on September 23, 1787 in Donaueschingen, with the ruling Princess Maria Antonia herself singing the role of Susanna. It was only with the new German version created by Hermann Levi in 1895 that the original form of the opera with recitatives was able to prevail again. There are probably more German translations of Le nozze di Figaro than of any other opera.

On August 29, 1789, a revised version of the opera premiered in the Burgtheater, for which Mozart made some changes due to a change in the cast of the roles of Susanna (now Adriana Ferrarese del Bene ) and the Count (probably Francesco Albertarelli), but these are not related to music and drama , but rather followed the request of the respective singers for more grateful performance pieces. Mozart and Da Ponte replaced both Susanna's arias with new compositions: Instead of “Venite… inginocchiatevi” (No. 13), there was the ariette “Un moto di gioia” ( KV 579). Her aria “Deh vieni non tardar” (in No. 28) was exchanged for the great concert aria “Al desio di chi t'adora” (KV 577). In addition, the vocal part of the Count's aria in the third act “Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro” (in No. 18) was placed in a higher position. It is not entirely certain whether this last change was made by Mozart himself. Perhaps it was done by an unknown collaborator or the new singer himself. Finally, in the countess' aria in the third act, “Dove sono i bei momenti” (in No. 20), several measures were newly composed in two places. These variants have come down to us in several copies of the score. This revival was very successful and saw 26 performances.

The first edition was in 1790 by the music publisher of the impresario Heinrich Philipp Bossler made.

There were continuous performance traditions until the middle of the 19th century, mainly at the Vienna Court Opera, where the opera was re-staged in 1798, 1814, 1818, 1829 and 1870, and at the Théâtre-Italy in Paris . There it was in the repertoire from 1807 to 1840. A dialogue version in French by François Castil-Blaze was performed from 1818 in Nîmes, Nantes, Brussels, Gent, Lilles, Antwerp and finally in 1826 in the Parisian Théâtre de l'Odéon . For performances at the Paris Théâtre-Lyrique in 1858, Jules Barbier and Michel Carré created a new translation, which was also adopted by the Opéra-Comique in 1872 .

Important productions in the 20th century were:

One of the most important performance traditions was founded in 1922 by the Salzburg Festival , which mostly collaborated with the Vienna State Opera or (after the Second World War) with La Scala in Milan . Especially the productions from 1948 (director: Oscar Fritz Schuh , conductor: Herbert von Karajan ), 1995 (director: Luc Bondy , conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt ) and 2001 (director: Christoph Marthaler , stage: Anna Viebrock , conductor: Sylvain Cambreling ) to call.

Filmography

Recordings

Le nozze di Figaro has appeared many times on phonograms. Operadis lists 163 recordings in the period from 1934 to 2009. Therefore, only those recordings that have been particularly distinguished in specialist magazines, opera guides or the like or that are worth mentioning for other reasons are listed below.

literature

  • Dieter Borchmeyer , Gernot Gruber (ed.): Mozart's operas. Das Handbuch (= The Mozart Handbook Part 3). 2 volumes. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2007, ISBN 978-3-89007-463-4 .
  • Tim Carter: WA Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1987, ISBN 0-521-31606-5 .
  • Sanda Chiriacescu-Lüling, Erhart Kahle: Rule and revolt in "Figaro's wedding". Investigation into the scenic realization possibilities of the socio-critical aspect in WA Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro". Lüling, Erlangen 1991, ISBN 3-922317-14-6 , also dissertation University Erlangen 1990/91.
  • Attila Csampai , Dieter Holland (Ed.): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The wedding of Figaro. Texts, materials, comments (= rororo 7667). Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg ISBN 3-499-17667-X .
  • Elisabeth Höllerer: The wedding of Susanna: the female figures in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (= intermediate tones; vol. 2). Von Bockel, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-928770-49-7 .
  • Heinz-Klaus Metzger, Rainer Riehn (Eds.): Mozart, the DaPonte operas (= music concepts, special volume) Ed. Text and criticism, München 1991, ISBN 3-88377-397-2 .
  • Bernd Oberhoff: Wolfgang A. Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro. A psychoanalytic opera guide. Psychosozial-Verlag, Giessen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89806-596-2 .
  • Kurt Pahlen (Ed.): Figaros Hochzeit (= Goldmann-Schott; 33004). Goldmann, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-442-33004-1 .
  • Wolfgang Ruf: The reception of Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" among contemporaries. Steiner, Wiesbaden 1977, ISBN 3-515-02408-5 , also dissertation University of Freiburg (Breisgau) 1974.
  • Ulrich Schreiber : The Opera II: Works of the Vienna Years. In: Silke Leopold (Ed.): Mozart-Handbuch. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-2021-6 , pp. 79–161.
  • State Opera Unter den Linden (Ed.): The Marriage of Figaro (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2902). Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-458-34602-3 .
  • Andrew Steptoe: The Mozart-Da Ponte operas. The cultural and musical background to Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1988, ISBN 0-19-313215-X .
  • TG Waidelich: Conradin Kreutzer's The Two Figaro (Vienna 1840). Links to older patterns and current tendencies of the Opéra “comique” and “buffa” in the continuation of a tried and tested subject. In: Irmlind Capelle (ed.): Albert Lortzing and the conversation opera in the first half of the 19th century. Report from the round table on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Albert Lortzing on October 22nd and 23rd, 2001 in the Lippische Landesbibliothek Detmold. On behalf of the Albert-Lortzing-Gesellschaft e. V. […], Munich 2004, pp. 173–214.
  • Andrea Singer: Conradin Kreutzer's comic opera The Two Figaro. A successful continuation of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Le nozze di Figaro? Master's thesis, University of Vienna 2013

Web links

Commons : Le nozze di Figaro  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Le nozze di Figaro Libretto  - Sources and full texts (Italian)

Remarks

  1. ↑ The role of Cherubino is a trouser role - it is sung by a woman. In the New Mozart Edition and in Piper, the pitch is referred to as soprano. The Harenberg opera guide names mezzo-soprano as an alternative. Corago and Grove only write mezzo-sopranos.
  2. ↑ The role of Marcellina is described in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe and in Grove as soprano, in Corago as mezzo-soprano and in Piper and Harenberg as alto.
  3. ↑ The Barber of Seville was later a. a. also set to music by Gioachino Rossini .
  4. ↑ Nowadays, in order to come closer to the French model, the hat is mostly replaced by a bridal veil
  5. ↑ The discovery of the page leads to a mess in which Basilio scornfully remarks “Così fan tutte le belle” (This is how all beautiful people do). Mozart later used the motif for his comment in the overture of his opera Così fan tutte .
  6. ↑ This is one of the most famous arias in opera. It had become so popular within a few months that Mozart himself alienated it in the final act of Don Giovanni to a festival music played by wind players and referred to as "fairly well-known" and transposed a note lower to B major.
  7. ↑ In many productions Cherubino is already disguised as a woman here, although this is not directly apparent from the libretto.
  8. ↑ The imperial decree reads literally: “In order not to extend the duration of the operas too far, but not to let the opera singers often seek fame in the repetition of the songs offend, I find accompanying message to the public (that none out of more than one Singing part of the existing piece is to be repeated) the most fateful means of being… ”Quoted from Ludwig Finscher (Ed.): New Mozart Edition - Volume 16: Le nozze di Figaro. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 1973, p. X ( online ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Ludwig Finscher: Le nozze di Figaro. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Vol. 4. Works. Massine - Piccinni. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-492-02414-9 , pp. 306-314.
  2. ^ Ludwig Finscher, Ulrich Leisinger: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Critical reports. Volume 16: Le nozze di Figaro. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2007, pp. 271–280 ( online ).
  3. ↑ Ludwig Finscher (Ed.): New Mozart Edition - Volume 16: Le nozze di Figaro. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 1973, p. XVII ( online ).
  4. ↑ Le nozze di Figaro. Music numbers on librettidopera.it , accessed August 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ NMA II / 5/16 / 1-2: Le nozze di Figaro. Sheet music edition. Finscher, 1973, p. 2.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Julian Rushton:  Nozze di Figaro, Le. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  7. ↑ a b Le nozze di Figaro. In: Manfred Hermann Schmid : Mozart's operas. A musical factory guide. CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-61557-3 , pp. 70-79.
  8. ↑ Ludwig Finscher (Ed.): New Mozart Edition - Volume 16: Le nozze di Figaro. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 1973, p. XVIII ( online ).
  9. ↑ Little Chronicle. (...) memorial plaque. In:  Wiener Zeitung , November 14, 1906, p. 5, center right. (Online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / wrz
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g Le nozze di Figaro. In: Harenberg opera guide. 4th edition. Meyers Lexikonverlag, 2003, ISBN 3-411-76107-5 , pp. 572-576.
  11. ↑ Ludwig Finscher (Ed.): New Mozart Edition - Volume 16: Le nozze di Figaro. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 1973, p. VII ( online ).
  12. ↑ Music with the princes of Fürstenberg in Donaueschingen. ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: Moments - Contributions to regional studies in Baden-Württemberg - 04/2005, accessed on September 16, 2016.
  13. ^ Ludwig Finscher, Ulrich Leisinger: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Critical reports. Volume 16: Le nozze di Figaro. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2007, p. 16 ( online ).
  14. ↑ Hans Schneider : The music publisher Heinrich Philipp Bossler 1744-1812. With bibliographic overviews and an appendix by Mariane Kirchgeßner and Boßler. Self-published by Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1985, ISBN 3-7952-0500-X , p. 180 .
  15. ↑ Le nozze di Figaro (1975). Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Discography on Le nozze di Figaro at Operadis, accessed on November 7, 2016.
  17. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.
  18. ↑ a b c d Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro - the best recording. In: Gramophone , accessed September 14, 2016.
  19. ↑ Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K492 - Glyndebourne: GFOCD00162 on Presto Classical , accessed on September 14, 2016.
  20. ↑ Le nozze di Figaro, June 9 , 1962. In: Performance archive on glyndebourne.com , accessed September 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ Richard Lawrence: MOZART Le nozze di Figaro. March 2014 review of the recording by Teodor Currentzis. In: Gramophone , accessed September 14, 2016.