Le Nozze di Figaro at the Met!

Has anyone ever heard of Le Nozze di Figaro? No? How about The Marriage of Figaro? No? Yes? The Marriage of Figaro/ Le Nozze di Figaro is a comic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Johnathon Miller's 1998 production of Le Nozze di Figaro returned to the Met this season. The 11/29/12 performance of Le Nozze di Figaro had been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. They still have a performance on 12/10/12, 12/13/12, and 12/17/12.

Gerald Finley, Maija Kovaleska, and Mojca Erdmann as Count Almaviva, Countess Almaviva, and Susanna.

The performances are conducted by David Robertson. Guess what was very untypical about this Mozartarian opera? There was a piano. A piano? What?! Yes, a piano in Mozart's orchestra. Dan Saunders accompanied the singers during the recitative moments. What about the harpsichord? Yeah, I know, Mozart recitatives should be performed with a harpsichord. but David Robertson decided to make something untypical in this production. The 1998 production itself is very Mozart like and a typical Figaro. That is the one main reason why David Robertson added the grand piano. Craig Rutenburg,  the director of music administration at the Met, said that David believed that adding a grand piano into the orchestra made it historically accurate. 

By the time Wolfgang Amdeus Mozart reached adulthood, the fortepiano was the most popular instrument. Mr. Rutenburg also explained that whenever the Met tried to usse a grand piano in its huge concert hall the sound ended up being petty and puny.

The stunning cast included Ildar Abrazakov as the cunning Figaro; Mojca Erdmann as his even more cunning bride, Susanna; Maija Kovalevska as the suffering Countess Almaviva; Gerald Finley as her unfaithful husband, Count Almaviva; and Chrisyine Schafer as the pageboy, Cherubino.

Written by: Rubina Mazurka