Met Opera Review: "Le Nozze di Figaro is Elevated by Strong Casting"

(for October  26,2012 performance) 

I would like to preface this review by stating that I was present at the opening night week ago, but due to the extenuating circumstances created by Hurricane Sandy I was unable to find the time, or computer to pull it off until this morning. I would also like to extend my best wishes to those affected by the hurricane and hope that they are undergoing a full recovery as soon as possible.

I have always felt that a Mozart opera does not work unless it is well sung and well staged. Most would argue that this is the case with any opera, but for me Mozart’s work demand all its players to step up their game all the more significantly. This case could not be more evident than in an opera such as Nozze di Figaro where a flat staging and poor acting can make the complex drama slow and mundane.

Fortunately, the Met Opera has chosen a strong cast and adequate director for the proceedings. While I did find a few flaws in the way the opera was put together, I can not help but feel satisfied by how the evening went. I usually refrain from mentioning other critics, but I could not help but notice how loathing they were toward stage director Gregory Keller’s revival of Jonathon Miller’s production. Keller had a few rough patches here and there, but I found his direction sufficient and compelling at times. This Nozze was surely filled with sexual innuendo, then again isn’t that the main thrust of the opera’s conflict? Those complaining that Keller cares little for the ambiguity of the work should take a look at his final direction after the Countess forgives the Count and they prepare for a reconciliatory kiss. It is a moment of pure tension and the fact that he never gives us the cathartic release suggests deeper issues in this marriage.

To suggest this was a perfect directorial turn would be wrong. During Cherubino’s escape in Act 2, Mojca Ermann’s Susanna and Christine Schafer’s Cherubino stood frozen on stage looking quite uncomfortable. It took a great deal of energy from the proceedings and looked rather under rehearsed. Aside from that I did not really experience any overwhelmingly poor choices that would degenerate Mozart’s great opera to vulgarity. Susanna and Marcellina engage in a cat fight to end the second Act, but I think it was comic in execution. I was also thrilled at the choice to cut the Act 4 arias of Basilio and Marcellina as it helped move the drama forward rather than killing its momentum.

Le Nozze di Figaro opens Tomorrow!

Tomorrow Jonathon Miller's hit production returns to the Met in Mozart classic masterpiece Le Nozze di Figaro. Ildar Abdrazakov leads an all star cast that also includes Mojca Erdmann, Christine Schaefer, Gerald Finley, and Maija Kovalevska. Maestro David Robertson leads the Met Orchestra.

For more information on Le Nozze di Figaro check out our preview linked here.

For more on Mojca Erdmann read our Don Giovanni review.

For more on Ildar Abdrazakov read our Anna Bolena Review.

For more on Mozart read our La Clemenza di Tito and Don Giovanni previews. 

Le Nozze di Figaro Preview 2012-2013 season

Jonathon Miller's production of Le Nozze di Figaro gets a starry cast led by Ildar Abdrazakov in the role of Figaro and Gerald Finley as the Count.

The Production

The current production of Le Nozze di Figaro returns to the Met after a 3 year absence. The production by Johnathon Miller had its premiere in 1998 and was immediately recorded on live television. Jonathon Miller who made his Met debut in 1991 directing Kata Kabanova and is known for his straight forward approaches to Opera. Sometimes he tinkers with relationships and settings but with this opera he sticks to the basics. For this production he keeps the work in the 18th century and lets the score tell the tale Mozart’s way. For the last run in 2009, Gregory Keller oversaw the stage direction and changed some scenes from their original staging. For example Figaro now sings “Se vuol ballare” while spit-polishing the Count’s boots and Cherubino no longer disrobes behind the Countess’s screen. According to critics, the balance of subtlety and slapstick were moved slightly toward comic broadness.As for the production's sets and lighting, Miller clearly designed it with with sensitivity to both the time span and the highly stylized fashions of the day. For example Miller used bright lights in Acts I and II to denote day time, and warm candle light with dark filter of blue light for Acts III and IV. While the staging isn't the most evolutionary production to come to the Met, audiences have loved it for years and this year with its exciting cast should not be an exception.