Figaro's wedding (film)

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Movie
Original title Figaro's wedding
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1949
length 107 minutes
Rod
Director Georg Wildhagen
script Georg Wildhagen
production DEFA
( Heinz Berg ,
Walter Lehmann )
music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
camera Eugen Klagemann
Karl Plintzner
cut Hildegard Tegener
occupation

Figaro's Wedding is a German DEFA film from 1949 . It is a film adaptation of the opera Le nozze di Figaro ( The Marriage of Figaro ) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , whose libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte is based on the comedy The Great Day or The Marriage of Figaro by Pierre de Beaumarchais .

action

Figaro measures the room in the castle that he plans to move into after the wedding with his bride Susanna to put the furniture. Figaro believes it is an advantage that the room is next to the count's apartments. Susanna explains to him that Count Almaviva could pursue his own plans towards her and has therefore given the bride and groom this room. Figaro tries to thwart the noble seducer’s intentions. Dr. Bartolo was hired by the housekeeper Marcellina to bring charges against Figaro, who had previously promised her marriage to settle a debt. Cherubino asks Susanna to intercede with the Count because he does not want to leave the castle. When the Count and Basilio appear, he hides, and Susanna pretends to faint; in the confusion Cherubino hides under a dress. The count, who had previously been rejected by Susanna, discovers him, and he is only spared from punishment by the jealous lord of the castle when the country folk appear. The Count forces Cherubino to make his way to the army, and Figaro, who is also jealous of him, gives him good advice on the way.

Susanna puts Cherubino in women's clothes and does his hair so that he can wait for the wedding. Cherubino flees from the Count into the next room, which the Count also wants to go into after hearing someone in it. The countess says it's just Susanna, and the count locks all the doors so that he can take another route to the next room with the countess. Susanna frees Cherubino, who is jumping out the window, and she enters the room from which he fled. The count thinks that Cherubino has been hiding, but to his astonishment only finds Susanna. In the meantime, Figaro, who fears the Count's intrusiveness, tries to keep him from appearing at his wedding with an anonymous letter, but when asked by the Countess, he confesses that he is the author. When the gardener brings Antonio a letter which he says was dropped by a fleeing man, Figaro claims that it was with Susanna. The document, however, turns out to be Cherubino's appointment as officer, and Figaro gets out of a fix by presenting it to the Count so that he can affix his missing seal. Marcellina brings her complaint against Figaro. The wedding is postponed so the Count can investigate the allegation.

The count is confused about the previous events and at the request of the countess Susanna agrees to meet him in the garden. Before that, however, she exchanges clothes with the countess. Susanna whispers to Figaro that his legal battle has been won. The count is angry. It turns out that Figaro is the illegitimate son of Marcellina and Bartolo, so he cannot even marry the housekeeper. The countess is left alone when the girl arrives and reports that everything is going well. The countess dictates a love letter for Susanna to send. The count is to send back the needle that holds the letter together to confirm receipt. The count discovers his previous page, flares up, but is soothed by Susanna's letter.

Following the instructions in the letter, the Count sent Barbarina with the needle, but she lost it. Figaro learns its importance from Barbarina. Out of jealousy, he persuades Bartolo and Marcellina to come into the garden to be present during the conversation between the Count and Susanna. Marcellina informs Susanna about this plan. The countess appears in Susanna's dress; Cherubino tries to kiss the supposed Susanna but is held back by the Count, who points his hand at Cherubino, but somehow meets the ever-present Figaro. The count pursues the supposed Susanna, who cleverly avoids him when the real Susanna appears in the countess's clothes. Figaro tells her about the count's intentions and recognizes his bride. He starred in the comedy by paying her honor as a countess and was hit on the ears again. The two make peace and he continues to play his part. When the count appears, he declares his love for her. The count calls for weapons and his people. A general recognition relieves the confusion of the Count, who makes an apology and is forgiven by the Countess.

particularities

The film was mainly shot in the Babelsberg studio , some of the outdoor shots were shot in the Babelsberg Park in Potsdam . The world premiere took place on November 25, 1949 in both East Berlin and West Berlin . In West Germany, the exchange film was shown for the first time on February 17, 1950 in Bayreuth .

This film is not a recording of an opera performance, but a film adaptation of the operatic material, shot in sets as they were used in the film at that time. The script differs from the Da Pontes libretto in a number of ways . The plot was shortened in many places and modified according to the taste of the time, the personnage was expanded to include a second gardener and a music notepad. All texts were translated into German and recitatives were replaced by spoken text, with the spoken passages spoken by the actors and the vocal pieces subsequently dubbed by professional singers. As a result, the roles, with the exception of those of Count and Figaro, are occupied twice.

In the scene in which Figaro Cherubino sings about the life of a soldier, Cherubino sees a battle going on in his mind's eye. These are recordings from the Veit Harlan film The Great King , which was made during World War II . Cherubino sings with the voice of a woman (Anneliese Müller), which in the case of this actor (Willi Puhlmann) seems too high, although the page is girlish and he is to be embodied by a mezzo-soprano .

A script error was made regarding the role of Basilio. When he writes the wedding song, he almost crows it to a musician because he cannot sing. In the presence of the Count, however, he proves to be a good singer (dubbed by Paul Schmidtmann).

synchronization

role actor Singer
Susanna Angelika Hauff Erna Berger
Countess Raisin Sabine Peters Tiana Lemnitz
Marcellina Elsa Wagner Margarete Klose
Dr. Bartolo Victor Janson Eugene Fuchs
Basilio Alfred Balthoff Paul Schmidtmann
Don Curzio Franz Weber Kurt Reimann
Antonio Ernst Legal Willi Sahler
Cherubino Willi Puhlmann Anneliese Müller
Barbarina Katharina Mayberg Elfriede Hingst

Awards

The FSK awarded the film the title culturally valuable . The state of North Rhine-Westphalia rated him as artistically superior .

criticism

film-dienst 3/1992: From today's point of view, an outdated film with grimacing actors, which sometimes dilutes the material into ridiculousness.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Bauer: German feature film Almanach. Volume 2: 1946-1955 , p. 49
  2. ↑ Figaro's wedding. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used