ichigan opera theatre 1 | carmen...“this boy will consign us all to oblivion!” -johann adolph...

MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE | CARMEN1

MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE | THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Characters & Synopsis 3 The Creators of The Marriage of Figaro 6 A Closer Look 10 Revolutionizing Opera “Le Nozze de Figaro” 14 Michigan Opera Theatre 17 Contact, Bios & Resources 18

The Marriage of Figaro"Here they talk of nothing but Figaro. Nothing is played, sung or whistled but Figaro. No opera is drawing [audiences] like Figaro. Nothing, nothing but Figaro." – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

THE CHARACTERS

Count Almaviva

Countess Almaviva

Susanna, her maid, engaged to Figaro

Figaro, the Count’s valet

Cherubino, the Count’s teenage page

Bartolo, a doctor

Marcellina, Bartolo’s housekeeper

Don Basilio, the music master

Don Curzio, the magistrate

Antonia, a gardener, Susanna’s uncle

Barbarina, Antonio’s daughter, Cherubino’s girlfriend

THE STORY SETTING: The Count and Countess’ country house near Seville, Spain in the late 1700s

ACT I Alone in their room, Figaro and Susanna prepare for their wedding. Susanna does not like their new room, because it is next door to that of the Count, who is trying to woo her. Figaro is furious to learn of the Count’s interest in Susanna, and vows revenge. Bartolo appears with his former housekeeper, Marcellina. She has made a deal with Figaro: if he does not repay the


CHARACTERS & SYNOPSIS

money he borrowed from her, he must marry her to settle his debt. Susana returns, and the two exchange jealous insults. Marcellina goes off with a huff, and the teenage pageboy Cherubino rushes in. He babbles about his many romantic desires, confiding in Susanna that he is both in love with the Countess and in trouble with the Count. The Count arrives to attempt to f lirt with Susanna, and Cherubino hides behind a chair. The Count’s wooing is interrupted by Don Basilio, the music teacher, and it is his turn to hide. Basilio tells Susanna that everyone knows that Cherubino has a crush on the Countess, and the angry Count jumps out of hiding. He becomes even more enraged when he discovers Cherubino is also in the room, and has overheard his romantic passes at Susanna. Their argument is interrupted by Figaro, who is leading the entire household in a song praising the Count. Figaro asks the Count to bless his wedding to Susanna, and he is forced to oblige. Then, to spite them and get Cherubino out of the way, the Count orders the page to enlist in the army right away. Figaro teases Cherubino, explaining that war is not a place for f lirting or fancy clothes, but rather mortars, marching, and mud.

ACT II In her bedroom, the Countess mourns the loss of her husband’s love. Together, she, Susanna, and Figaro plot to embarrass the Count: they will send Cherubino, dressed as a woman, to a rendezvous with the Count in Susanna’s place. Cherubino arrives and, with Susanna’s encouragement, sings a love song he wrote for the Countess. Susanna begins to dress him up in women’s clothing, but Cherubino keeps getting distracted in his attempts to get the Countess’ attention. When Susanna goes off to f ind another ribbon, Cherubino declares his love for the Countess. Just then, the Count bangs on the door, and Cherubino hastily hides in a closet. The Count demands to know who the Countess was talking to, showing her an anonymous letter he has received warning him that she is with a “lover” (all part of Figaro’s poorly-made plan). A mysterious sound comes from the closet, and the Count is suspicious of his wife’s story that Susanna is in there. He leaves to find tools to break open the door, taking the Countess with him. Meanwhile, Susanna has snuck back into the room. She helps Cherubino escape through the window, and takes his place in the closet. The Count and Countess return, and are both astonished to find Susanna. Apologies and explanations of the confusion ensue, and all seems well until Antonio, the gardener, appears to complain that someone has jumped from the window, trampling his f lowers. Improvising quickly to deflect the blame from Cherubino, Figaro fakes a limp and claims that it was he who jumped. Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio barge in, demanding that Figaro marry Marcellina. The Count happily agrees to postpone the wedding of Figaro and Susanna.

ACT III The Countess encourages the hesitant Susanna to go ahead with their plan to fool the Count: Susanna will agree to a secret meeting with the Count, but the two women will exchange


cloaks, and the Countess will go in her place. The Count is excited for their upcoming rendezvous, but becomes enraged when he overhears Susanna conspiring with Figaro. Alone, The Countess sings of her past happiness. Marcellina and Don Curzio, the lawyer, demand that Figaro must repay his loan or marry Marcellina at once. Figaro protests that he cannot be wed without the permission of his parents, for whom he has been searching since being kidnapped as a baby. He reveals a distinguishing birthmark on his arm, and Marcellina realizes that Figaro is her long lost son. Bartolo reluctantly identifies himself as Figaro’s father. The newly reunited family sings of their happiness as the Count and Don Curzio huff angrily. Susanna arrives with money to repay Figaro’s debt to f ind him embracing Marcellina, and, thinking her f iancé has married another woman, hits him. All is explained, Bartolo agrees to marry Marcellina, and the two happy couples go off to plan a double wedding.

The Countess is determined to go on with their plan, and dictates a letter to Susanna confirming her meeting with the Count in the garden that evening. They seal the note with a pin, which the Count is to return to her if he agrees to meet her. Barbarina and some peasant girls—including Cherubino, still in disguise as a woman—arrive to serenade the Countess. Antonio arrives and reveals the page’s charade, and the Count is furious to discover the Cherubino is still in his house. He wants to punish the boy, but Barbarina convinces the Count but to let her marry Cherubino instead. As the household prepares for the wedding, Susanna slips her note to the Count, cementing their meeting.

ACT IV That night in the garden, Barbarina despairs that she has lost the pin the Count has given her to deliver back to Susanna. Figaro appears with Marcellina, and upon hearing Barbarina’s tale of Susanna’s scheduled rendezvous with the Count, believes his fiancé to be unfaithful and rages against all women. Marcellina goes off to warn Susanna. When Susanna arrives in the garden, she sings a song about an unnamed lover to tease the spying Figaro. She then hides and disguises herself in the Countess’ cloak.

Figaro is boiling mad, but stays in hiding. Cherubino arrives searching for Barbarina just as the Countess enters, disguised as Susanna. He flirts with her, but accidentally plants his kiss meant for “Susanna” on the Count. The Count chases him away, ready for his own chance to be alone with “Susanna.” The watching Figaro has become even angrier, but when Susanna arrives in her guise as the Countess, he hears her voice and realizes what is going on. The Count returns to discover Figaro declaring love to “the Countess,” and explodes with fury, f linging accusations. When the real Countess reveals her identity, the Count humbly asks her forgiveness. After a moment of hesitation, she grants it, and the company rejoices.


THE COMPOSER: WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756 – 1791) “This boy will consign us all to oblivion!” -Johann Adolph Hasse, composer and contemporary of Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, the son of Anna Maria Pertl and Leopold Mozart, a skilled violinist, leading music teacher, and successful composer. Wolfgang and his sister Maria Anna (“Nannerl”) were the only two of their seven children to survive.

Mozart showed a remarkable talent for music very early on, and at f ive, he was composing his f irst pieces. That same year, he and Nannerl, also highly gifted in music, were taken to Munich by their father to play at the Bavarian court. A few months later, they went to Vienna and were heard at the imperial court and in noble houses.

In mid-1763, the family set out on a tour of western Europe, including Munich, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, and London (where they spent 15 months). Mozart’s first pieces were published in Paris during this time, and in London, he composed his f irst symphonies- all by the age of eight years old.

In 1768, Mozart wrote a one-act German singspiel (literally “sing-play”), Bastien und Bastienne, which was followed by La finta


!

THE CREATORS

semplice (“The Fake Innocent”), an opera in three acts. Within the year, another tour would follow, bringing the now 13 year-old Mozart to Italy, then considered a preferred educational destination for aspiring young musicians. Over 15 months, he traveled to all the main musical centers in Italy, and commissions began to roll in- an opera in Milan, an oratorio in Padua, and more.

Returning from Italy in 1773, Mozart gained employment as a court musician in Salzburg, allowing him the opportunity to compose in a great number of genres, including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, serenades, and the occasional opera. Nevertheless, Mozart gradually grew more discontented with Salzburg and at age 25, moved to Vienna in order to continue developing his career.

It was in Vienna that Mozart would meet his wife, Constanze, and strongly establish himself as a composer. His opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio") achieved a huge success and was soon being performed throughout German-speaking Europe. However, despite this achievement, Mozart focused on his work as a piano soloist and writer of concertos, and did not return to opera until four years later, when he composed The Marriage of Figaro. The success of this opera led to a commission for Don Giovanni, which premiered in 1787, and was followed in 1790 by Cosi Fan Tutti. All three operas are now considered among Mozart's most important works and are mainstays of the operatic repertoire.

Despite the popularity of his work, Mozart struggled f inancially in this period as his career began to decline. He moved his family from Vienna to cheaper lodgings in the suburb of Alsergrund, and began to borrow money from friends. 1791 would be Mozart’s last year, but was, until his f inal illness struck, one of great productivity. This was the year he competed a series of string quartets, a piano concerto, a clarinet concerto, and of course, his opera The Magic Flute.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s death came at a young age, even for the time period. At the time of his death at age 35, Mozart was considered one of the greatest composers of all time. His music presented a bold expression, oftentimes complex and dissonant, and required high technical mastery from the musicians who performed it. Mozart conceived and perfected the grand forms of symphony, opera, string ensemble, and concerto that marked the classical period, and have continued to fascinate and provide enjoyment to musicians and music lovers alike.


THE LIBRETTIST: LORENZO DA PONTE (1749-1838) Lorenzo Da Ponte was born Emmanuele Conegliano on March 10, 1749 in Ceneda, Italy. When he and his father converted to Christianity in 1763, he took the name of the Bishop of Ceneda, Lorenzo Da Ponte. Digging deeper into his new faith, Da Ponte began his adult life training to become a priest, and was ordained in 1773. Da Ponte’s opinions did not match with those of the church, however, and his teachings were banned from the Veneto region of Italy. When he was exiled from Venice in 1779, Da Ponte went off in search of a new life purpose.

Da Ponte moved on to Dresden, Germany and started his career as a librettist. He worked translating and arranging plays and libretti alongside his friend Caterino Mazzolà, who was Dresden’s court poet. It was Mazzolà who recommended Da Ponte to Antonio Salieri, an important Italian composer of 18th-century opera. In 1781, Da Ponte travelled to Vienna to work with Salieri. While there, he attracted the attention of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who gave Da Ponte a new job: poet to the Viennese court theatre (1783). Da Ponte’s skill in writing beautiful—and often funny—verses, and his ability to speak many languages made him the ideal court poet. However, his f irst new libretto for Salieri, Il ricco d’un giorno (1784), failed to impress audiences. In a display of his famous ego, Da Ponte blamed the show’s failure on Salieri’s music, not his words. Not all was lost, however: in 1786 he gained fame by writing six whole operas in just one year, including his and Mozart’s adaptation of Beaumarchais’ play Le Mariage de Figaro.

After that, Da Ponte managed to regain Salieri’s trust, and went on to write three more operas with him. His partnership with Mozart also yielded Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, rounding out a trio of amazing operas. Together, he and Mozart pushed the limits of opera buffa (Italian comic opera), discovering new possibilities of drama and comedy. Despite his success, Da Ponte was f ired from his post when Joseph II died in 1790. He was still not allowed to return home to Venice, so he found his way to London, accompanied by his wife, Nancy Grahl. There, he was given a job at the King’s Theatre in Haymarket. Here again Da Ponte showed off his skills by writing many libretti, including collaborations with his favorite composers, Martin y Soler. However, Da Ponte’s position at the theatre was haunted by rumors and financial problems, and he and Nancy eventually fled to America, chased away by debt collectors.


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In America, Da Ponte once again switched careers—once priest and librettist, he then became a grocer in New York and Pennsylvania. He became an American citizen, and made it his mission to introduce Italian language and culture to his new home. He taught and sold Italian books, eventually serving as an honorary professor at Columbia College (1825, 1827 until his death). Though he published a few more written works—including several editions of his autobiography, Memorie—it wasn’t until late in his life that his love of opera returned. He then published new editions of some of his operas, including Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, and briefly managed the new Italian Opera House. Upon his death on August 17, 1938, Da Ponte’s life was recognized with a funeral that was grand enough to celebrate his many important contributions to Italian opera.


! King Louis XVI of France

FIGARO AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION "For this play not to be a danger, the Bastille would have to be torn down first." –King Louis XVI

Beginning in 1789, the French Revolution had an impact that was felt across the globe. It brought the end of the ancien régime in France and ushered in the beginning of democracy and the birth of modern Europe. It marked a movement across the Western world towards a culture based on human rights, rather than the will of the King. In a model example of art influencing politics, The Marriage of Figaro played its part in bringing change to France: Beaumarchais’ play can be read as foreshadowing to the world-changing events that unfolded over the course of the French Revolution.

READY FOR REVOLUTION At the end of the 18th Century, the Western world was in a state of unrest. The American Revolution (1775-83) had just reached its c o n c l u s i o n , a n d m a n y ot h e r countries across the world were beginning to echo the American colonists’ discontent with the way their political and social systems were being run. This new worldview was largely due to the emergence of Enlightenment thinking across Europe. Lead by a group of thinkers called philosophes, Enlightenment intellectuals advocated for reason and equality, speaking out against class division, aristocracy, and prejudice. These ideals laid the

groundwork for the American and French resistance against absolute monarchy, paving the way to revolution.

Though many countries across the globe were leaning towards revolution, the events that took place in France would be the most violent and have the most widespread impact. The philosophes were read more widely in France than anywhere else, and their revolutionary ideas


!The Storming of the Bastille

A CLOSER LOOK

had the strongest influence there. Political pressures in France were mounting: France was in the middle of a food crisis — a widespread shortage of grain had brought to famine in Paris and left peasants angry and starving. Riots broke out across Northern France, and peasants aimed their anger about the food shortages at the government, crying out for change.

At the same time, a group of the poorest French citizens started to become more successful, pulling themselves out of poverty. This growing middle class of people wanted their voices to be heard in the French government, and were willing to f ight for this political power.

Meanwhile, France had recently helped out America during its own revolution, and the steep cost of war had left France without enough money to run the country. To fix this problem, King Louis XVI—France’s absolute monarch — decided to tax his wealthiest citizens, called the bourgeoisie, who had always been exempt from paying taxes. The bourgeoisie resented this change of plans, and so also became angry, calling for revolution.

THE PLAY’S THE THING As these forces built to a head, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ play La Folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (The Crazy Day, or the Marriage of Figaro) opened at the Comédie-Française. Despite having been written between 1775 and 1778, the heavily political play had only just made it past the Parisian censors to open at the leading French theatre in 1784. The censors had been right about the power of Beaumarchais’ play: the f irst French performance after Louis XVI’s ban on the play lead to a riot that left three dead. In Beaumarchais’ story, Figaro, servant to the Count, outsmarts his master, sending the radical message the servants are actually smarter, more morally sound people than the elite aristocrats. At points throughout the play, Figaro expresses his anger and lack of obedience right to the Count’s face: “Because you are a great nobleman,” he spits, “You think you are a great genius… whereas I have had to deploy more knowledge, more calculation and skill merely to survive than has sufficed to rule all the provinces of Spain for a century!” This outright critique of the French class system sparked governmental anger and inspired Parisian citizens to rise up.

Much of Le Mariage de Figaro centers around The Count, who, having just given up droit du seigneur (feudal right) and therefore his absolute power over his subjects, spends the majority of the play attempting to go behind everyone’s backs to get it back. Through his play, Beaumarchais critiqued the similar behavior of Louis XVI at this time; the King waffled back


! Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais

and forth over policies that would reduce his power over his people in order to move France towards a more democratic society. With the encouragement of Beaumarchais’ play, this indecision led French citizens to view King Louis XVI as a symbol of tyranny. Louis VXI recognized that the play carried this power to influence his subjects, prophetically proclaiming that “For this play not to be a danger, the Bastille would have to be torn down first.”

ADDING MUSIC, ADAPTING MEANING Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte were also aware of the political power of the Beaumarchais’ play—when they began to turn it into an opera, they faced opposition by Italian composers. It is rumored that much of the first draft of Le Nozze di Figaro (begun in 1785) was finished before they’d even received permission to stage the opera. However, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790)—coincidentally the brother of King Louis XVI’s wife, Marie Antoinette—was well versed in the new Enlightenment ideals, and gave Da Ponte the go-ahead to adapt the play into an opera. Despite this official royal blessing, the influence of political censorship was still strong in Europe. This led the duo to play down the political aspects of Beaumarchais’ play, focusing more on the comedic aspects of the story in their adaptation. However, the influence of the revolution can still be seen in the opera: servants take center stage, driving the action, rather than staying hidden in the shadows. Early opera had been based on myths, telling the stories of heroes, gods and goddesses. Mozart and Da Ponte told the stories of everyday people, reflecting the Enlightenment ideals of realism and human rationality.

REVOLUTION REIGNS Just as the King had so fatefully predicted, on July 14, 1789, the discontented Parisian citizens rose up to seize the Bastille, a prison that stood as a f igure of the reign of the French government. This day is widely considered the true beginning of the revolution. Following this event, peasants in the provinces rose up against their masters, which eventually led to the abolition of the feudal system in France that had kept them under the control of their lords. On August 24, 1789, the new, more democratic National Constituent Assembly introduced The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, a radical document that expressed the core ideals of the French Revolution and would serve as a basis for the coming development of freedom and democracy worldwide. Over the course of the next ten years, the French citizens would continue to fight for change. The Women’s March on Versailles, Maximilien Robespierre’s Reign of Terror, the subsequent execution of Louis XVI, and the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte all followed, leading to the eventual fall of the French monarchy and establishment of a new political and social structure in France. The events of the French Revolution changed the world, and through the power of storytelling, Beaumarchais, Mozart, Da Ponte and The Marriage of Figaro helped to spread its ideas across the globe.


TIMELINE OF EVENTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 1774: September 10 - King Louis XVI comes to power; Grain riots in Northern France; Famine in Paris

1775: American Revolutionary War Begins

1775-78: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais writes La Folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro

1776: July 4 - American Declaration of Independence sets precedent for French revolutionary thinking

1778: France enters American Revolutionary War

1784: La Folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro has its French première at the Comédie- Française

1785: Mozart begins to compose Le nozze di Figaro

1786: May 1 - Le Nozze di Figaro premiers at the Burg Theatre in Vienna

1789: July 14 - Fall of the Bastille

August 37 - National Assembly approves text of Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

October 5-6 - Women’s March through Paris

1792: January-March - Food riots in Paris

September 21 - French monarchy is abolished

1793: January 21 - Louis XVI is executed by guillotine; Maximilien Robspierre’s “Reign of Terror” begins

1794: July - Fall of Robspierre, end of Reign of Terror

1799: Napoleon Bonaparte seizes political power in France, ending the Revolution


Although Mozart finished Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) in 1786, prior to the start of the French Revolution in 1789, generations of critics have understood the opera as prefiguring the revolutionary fervor. To a large extent this understanding has to do with the opera’s main storyline, in which a servant (Figaro) manages to thwart tyrannical schemes of his seemingly all-powerful master (Count Almaviva). The suspicions that Mozart’s Figaro harbors revolutionary sentiments is also linked to the fact that Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838) decided to base their f irst collaboration on the notorious play Le Mariage de Figaro by the French dramatist Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799). Possibly because it contained crit icism of the nobil ity, Beaumarchais’s play, completed in 1778, was first banned in France and eventually premiered in Paris only in 1784 (Figure 1). But the ways in which Da Ponte and Mozart transformed the French play into an Italian opera for the imperial court theater in Vienna produced a work that is as ambiguous as it is revolutionary.

It was probably Mozart’s idea to use the play as a basis for a libretto. The composer was searching for a suitable subject ever since an Italian comic opera company started operations in Vienna in the spring of 1783. The choice of the subject was in many ways in line with the interests of both the composer and the Viennese court that sponsored the Italian company. In choosing Le Mariage de Figaro, Mozart probably wanted to benefit from the enormous success of Giovanni Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figure 2). Based on Beaumarchais’s 1775 prequel to Le marriage de Figaro, Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia was produced in Vienna in 1783 (Rossini’s famous opera on the same subject would not appear until 1816). Criticism of nobility, however, was also in line with the policies of the Viennese court in the 1780s. During this period, Austrian emperor Joseph II was centralizing his vast empire by concentrating administrative powers in the hands of Viennese bureaucrats und diminishing the privileges of landowning aristocracy. Thus, the quasi-revolutionary French play might have paradoxically appealed to the centralistic interests of an absolute monarch.

Viennese authorities, however, did not accept Beaumarchais’s play verbatim. The Emperor himself, in a letter from January 31, 1785, admitted that Le marriage de Figaro contained many


REVOLUTIONIZING OPERA IN “LE NOZZE DI FIGARO” By Dr. Martin Nedbal

Figure 1: Title page of one of the earliest publications of Beaumarchais’s play Le Mariage de Figaro, from 1785.

offensive passages. It was most likely because of these passages, that the Viennese German theater censor, Franz Karl Hägelin, banned performances of the play’s German translation. Perhaps under the impression of this ban, Da Ponte excised numerous passages from his libretto adaptation. Many of these cuts had a political component. For example, Da Ponte significantly shortened Figaro’s monologue in the fourth act, in which Figaro accuses noblemen of leeching on the rest of the society by relying on hereditary privilege. From the harangue, Da Ponte kept only those portions in which Figaro, who thinks that Susanna has

cheated on him with the Count, accuses women of being deceitful and unfaithful—thus creating the fourth-act aria “Aprite un po’ quegl’occhi” (“Open your eyes”).

Equally extensive are Da Ponte’s revisions and excisions of sexually suggestive passages. To be sure, even in the opera there are numerous more or less sexual elements, especially in connection to the philandering Count and the pubescent adventures of Cherubino. Yet, the libretto significantly reduced Cherubino’s f lirtations with the Countess, whom Da Ponte transforms into a paragon of constancy. Da Ponte still remembered his own moralistic revision of Beaumarchais’s libretto several decades later when wrote his memoirs, where he recalls telling the emperor Joseph that in Figaro he “omitted or cut anything that might offend the good taste and public decency at a performance over which the Sovereign Majesty might preside.”

It is ultimately impossible to determine what the precise motivation behind Da Ponte’s revisions was. It is also not clear how serious Da Ponte and Mozart had to be in avoiding a potential ban on their opera in Vienna. Although the Viennese performance of Beaumarchais’s play in German translation was prohibited, its text was published and commercially available in Vienna (Figure 3). In their Italian work,

Mozart and Da Ponte did not need to be as concerned about censorship as the authors of German-language

works, since no strict rules about censoring Italian opera existed in Vienna at that time. Because German-language performances were accessible to a much wider range of audiences (Vienna was and still is a German-speaking city after all), the content of German plays and


Figure 2: Title page of the libretto for Giovanni Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, published in 1784 in Prague (where it was produced a year after Vienna).

operas was closely scrutinized by the state. The Viennese Italian opera company, by contrast, was a pet project of Emperor Joseph. Since the Italian company was directly supervised by the court, the decisions about what was acceptable in terms of morals and politics could be quite arbitrary, depending on the personal whims of the Emperor and his court officials.

In their creation of Figaro, Mozart and Da Ponte must have been aware that they were working with a notoriously problematic plot that had previously incurred the wrath of state authorities. At the same time, they must have known that authors of Italian operas in Vienna could be more risqué and socially critical. Social criticism is quite prominent in Mozart’s music, much more so than in his other operatic works. In his first-act cavatina “Se vuol ballare, signor contino” (“If you want to dance, my little count”), Figaro not only appropriates the style of the courtly, aristocratic minuet, but also distorts it, as he promises to teach the Count a lesson. Figaro’s fourth-act aria “Aprite un po’ quegl’occhi” is introduced by a section of recitative accompanied by the full orchestra (as opposed to just the keyboard); similar “accompanied” recitatives were reserved for noble characters in eighteenth-century opera, and Mozart’s use of it here might be compensating for the excision of political content from the original French text. The Count sings a similarly structured aria, introduced by accompanied recitative, in the third act—“Vedrò mentre io sospiro” (“Shall I see, while I suffer”). In this aria, Mozart’s music all too effectively paints the reprehensible rage and selfishness of the Count as he envies Figaro, a servant, the love of Susanna. Similar anti-aristocratic commentary appears in the Countess’s third-act soliloquy, consisting of an introductory section of accompanied recitative that leads into the aria “Dove sono i bei momenti” (“Where are the beautiful moments”). The accompanied recitative f inishes with a poignant exclamation: hurt by the Count’s insults and betrayal, the Countess accuses him of forcing her to seek help from Susanna, a maid.

Mozart’s music in Figaro is ingenious in its psychological depth, with which it transforms conventional comedic f igures into multi-dimensional human beings. But what makes the opera particularly intriguing for historians is its political dimension, which, perhaps unwittingly, foreshadows the brewing ideologies of the French Revolution.


Figure 3: Title page of the 1785 Vienna German translation of Beaumarchais’s Le Mariage de Figaro as Der närrische Tag, oder die Hochzeit des Figaro.

AN INTRODUCTION Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT), the state of Michigan’s premier opera company, which, through its commitment to producing and presenting the very best professional productions of opera, dance, musical theater, and arts education programming, serves as a statewide cultural resource.

The vision of Founder and Artistic Director Dr. David DiChiera, and led by President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne S. Brown, MOT offers an essential, vibrant contribution to the quality of life for Detroit-area residents and to communities throughout the region. This dynamic cultural resource exemplifies artistic excellence. Since its founding in 1971, MOT has offered southeast Michigan the f inest arts and cultural performances, concerts, education, and entertainment. By presenting culturally significant productions relative to the diverse populace of the region, such as Porgy and Bess, Anoush, King Roger, Dead Man Walking, and the world premiere production of Margaret Garner, MOT has brought the magic of live theatre to thousands of people.

In April of 1996, on the Company's twenty-fifth anniversary, the ribbon was cut for the grand opening of the Detroit Opera House. Michigan Opera Theatre joined the ranks of major opera companies worldwide with the multi-million renovation of a 1922 movie palace. Michigan Opera Theatre is one of only a few opera companies in the United States to own its own opera house. The product of Dr. DiChiera's dream, the Detroit Opera House is comparable to the world's greatest houses in visual and acoustical beauty.

OUR MISSION Michigan Opera Theatre is the premier multi-disciplined producer and presenter for opera, musical theatre, and dance in the Great Lakes Region. Based in the city of Detroit, the organization engages artists of national and international stature for stellar main stage and outreach performances, and provides compelling cultural enrichment programs for the diverse audiences and communities that it serves, making it one of Detroit’s pillars of arts and culture.

SELECT AWARDS & HONORS INCLUDE Best Opera: Cyrano, Wilde Awards 2017 | Best Opera: The Passenger, Wilde Awards 2016 | Best Opera, Elektra, Wilde Awards, 2015 | Founder and Artistic Director Dr. David DiChiera named the 2013 Kresge Eminent Artist | Opera Honors Award to Dr. David DiChiera, National Endowment for the Arts, 2010 | Outstanding Service in the Field of Opera for Youth, National Opera Society, 2006 | Success in Education Award, Opera America, 2002


MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE

MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE’S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS The Department of Education and Community Programs has brought its varied musical programs to every age group in Michigan for nearly 40 years. Artists visit schools, community centers, and stages throughout Michigan, performing shows that range from lively children’s operas to musical revues. Founded by Karen V. DiChiera, the Department of Education and Community Programs serves the entire state with quality entertainment and education. Since its inception, the Department of Education and Community Programs has been honored with awards and recognitions including the Governor’s Arts Award, a Spirit of Detroit Award, and multiple Philo T. Farnsworth Awards for Excellence in Community Programming, among others. Touring productions, concerts, workshops, and residencies have reached many thousands of people throughout the state of Michigan, and programs have extended as far as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Canada. With an ever-growing repertoire of productions, an exciting roster of up-and-coming singers, and a circle of experienced and passionate teaching artists, the Department of Education and Community Programs continues to provide people of all ages with opportunities for access, growth, and learning through the arts.


CONTACT

BIOS Martin Nedbal is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Kansas. Prior to his appointment in Kansas in 2016, Nedbal worked at the University of Arkansas and received his Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music in 2009. Nedbal’s book Morality and Viennese Opera in the Age of Mozart and Beethoven was published by Routledge in 2017. He is currently working on another book, about the reception of Mozart’s operas and the increasingly tense Czech-German relations in nineteenth-century Prague. Nedbal is also preparing an English translation and edition of the theoretical works of the composer Leoš Janáček for the Editio Janáček. He has published numerous articles on the history of opera in Central Europe, in journals such as Acta musicologica, The Musical Quarterly, Opera Quarterly, and the Czech Theater Review. He has also contributed to the Oxford Handbook of Music Censorship and the Cambridge Haydn Encyclopedia. Nedbal’s research has been supported by grants from numerous institutions, most recently from the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies.

SOURCES Encyclopedia Britannica http://academic.eb.com

The Grove Book of Operas http://www.oxfordreference.com

The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com

History Home http://www.historyhome.co.uk

The Metropolitan Opera https://www.metopera.org

Oxford Music Online http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com

Oxford Art Online http://www.oxfordartonline.com

Regina Opera Company http://www.reginaopera.org

SAGE Reference http://sk.sagepub

University of California, Santa Cruz http://artsites.ucsc.edu/


For more info about the Department of Education and Community Programs please contact:

ANDREA SCOBIE Manager of Education and Community Programs 313.237.3429 | [email protected]

Visit us online:Website: www.michiganopera.org Facebook: Michigan Opera Theatre Instagram: @MichiganOpera Twitter: @DetOperaHouse

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.michiganopera.org

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/

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