Figaro is the most perfect of operas and also one of the most difficult to stage. Until recently I had only ever seen one completely successful production, that was Jonathan Miller's for the Met. Now I have seen two more, Graham Vick's for Glyndebourne and this production by David McVicar for the ROH Covent Garden.
McVicar pays great attention to detail, inventing stage business that adds to our understanding of what is happening rather than detracting from it. For example, the opera usually opens with Figaro measuring the room to see if his bed will fit "10, 20, 30 "etc. In this production he is measuring Susanna's vital statistics. Then he dances with a pair of his master's boots to demonstrate how he will make the Count do his bidding. Erwin Schrott has a resonant baritone voice, reminiscent of Bryn Terfel. I was pleased to see that Miah Persson as Susanna is very much at home in this repertoire since I thought she was rather stretched when I heard her recently in the Flying Dutchmen. Together, Schrott and Persson make an aristocratic couple, perhaps emphasizing that it is only an accident of birth that they are the servants and not the masters. In contrast Dorothea Röschmann is a rather matronly Contessa, although her singing is very accomplished and Gerald Finley is a suitably menacing Count. Rinat Shahan is a charming Cherubino and there is strength in depth in all the minor roles, Don Bartolo, Don Basilio and Marcellina, making the discovery scene, where Figaro learns that Bartolo and Marcellina are his parents, one of the funniest that I have seen. All the minor roles have their five minutes of glory and the veteran Philip Langridge as the foppish Don Basilio seizes his. He whips of his wig to demonstrate the virtues of getting through life by wearing the skin of an ass.
All the comic business is done very clearly and well, particularly the final act, which can so often go wrong on account of its complexity. McVicar chooses to set the opera during the Risorgimento rather than the Enlightenment. This does not affect the action unduly and most people probably would not notice. He may, however, be doing Mozart a disservice. The subject matter is so revolutionary that it is difficult to believe that it was written in 1786 and by moving it forward by 60 years or so McVicar may be reducing some of its impact.
McVicar pays great attention to detail, inventing stage business that adds to our understanding of what is happening rather than detracting from it. For example, the opera usually opens with Figaro measuring the room to see if his bed will fit "10, 20, 30 "etc. In this production he is measuring Susanna's vital statistics. Then he dances with a pair of his master's boots to demonstrate how he will make the Count do his bidding. Erwin Schrott has a resonant baritone voice, reminiscent of Bryn Terfel. I was pleased to see that Miah Persson as Susanna is very much at home in this repertoire since I thought she was rather stretched when I heard her recently in the Flying Dutchmen. Together, Schrott and Persson make an aristocratic couple, perhaps emphasizing that it is only an accident of birth that they are the servants and not the masters. In contrast Dorothea Röschmann is a rather matronly Contessa, although her singing is very accomplished and Gerald Finley is a suitably menacing Count. Rinat Shahan is a charming Cherubino and there is strength in depth in all the minor roles, Don Bartolo, Don Basilio and Marcellina, making the discovery scene, where Figaro learns that Bartolo and Marcellina are his parents, one of the funniest that I have seen. All the minor roles have their five minutes of glory and the veteran Philip Langridge as the foppish Don Basilio seizes his. He whips of his wig to demonstrate the virtues of getting through life by wearing the skin of an ass.
All the comic business is done very clearly and well, particularly the final act, which can so often go wrong on account of its complexity. McVicar chooses to set the opera during the Risorgimento rather than the Enlightenment. This does not affect the action unduly and most people probably would not notice. He may, however, be doing Mozart a disservice. The subject matter is so revolutionary that it is difficult to believe that it was written in 1786 and by moving it forward by 60 years or so McVicar may be reducing some of its impact.