The production was occasionally a bit too much on the busy side, particularly the transition from Acts 1 to 2: as Figaro sang 'Non piu andrai' to Cherubino, Cherubino was nowhere to be seen, as he, along with most of the rest of the cast, was moving furniture around as part of the open-curtain scene change. Cherubino's 'Non so piu' was erotic without being vulgar (That being said, there were a few too many vulgar moments for my taste). 'Contessa perdono' was as devastating moment for the audience as it was for the count. Some of the character moments were supremely touching: 'Deh vieni' in the final act was a lovely, tender moment. It was a bit like a series of Chinese boxes nested in each other, only from the point of view of being inside the box.

What I liked best about the production was how the set grew increasingly larger: the first act in Figaro and Susanna's tiny room, then the larger Countess's room, the even-larger Count's room, and finally the gardens in the last act. It worked two hundred years ago, and it works today. Plain and simple: it's Mozart's, Da Ponte's, and Beaumarchais's work. Seattle Opera's new production does nothing radical with the work: it hasn't been moved forward in time, the character relationships haven't been wildly skewed or experimented with. It's a towering masterpiece that almost always works. Marriage of Figaro is my favorite of the Mozart/Da Ponte operas, and one of my personal all-time top six favorite operas. Costumes: Deborah Trout (Seattle Opera debut)įigaro: Oren Gradus (Seattle Opera debut)ĭon Basilio/Don Curzio: Ted Schmitz (Seattle Opera debut)Ĭountess: Twyla Robinson (Seattle Opera debut)īridesmaids: Jennifer Bromagen, Yeon Soo Lee (Seattle Opera debuts)

The marriage of figaro seattle opera