Marriage of figaro when was it written

The Marriage of Figaro is at once the funniest and most poignant of musical comedies. Mozart uses music to take possession of the dramatic situations. The music is alive with this sense of discovery. Mozart revels in his mastery of the comic style, opening his overture with a seven bar phrase , rather than the conventional four or eight bars.

The Count himself is forced to hide when yet another voice is heard at the door. In a rage, the Count reveals himself to an amused Basilio. As he does, Almaviva discovers a hiding Cherubino.

Almaviva is fuming, as Cherubino has overheard him propositioning Susanna. He vows to get rid of the lad by giving him a military commission. Figaro returns, accompanied by festive townspeople. He asks the Count to join him and Susanna in marriage.

Almaviva stalls him. The Countess believes her husband no longer loves her, while Susanna wants him to leave her alone. Susanna tells the Countess that she and Figaro have a plan: Almaviva will receive a letter from Basilio informing him that his wife has taken up a lover. At the same time, Susanna will set up a rendezvous with Almaviva, but will send a disguised Cherubino in her place.

Cherubino enters with a song of love for the Countess and a commission letter that the Count forgot to seal, and is taken aback when the women begin to undress him. Having locked the door, they have time to hide Cherubino and Susanna when Almaviva unexpectedly arrives to speak with his wife about the letter from Basilio, written and planted by Figaro.

He jealously demands entry into the locked inner room where Cherubino is hiding, but the Countess refuses to open it, claiming Susanna is inside trying on her wedding dress.

Almaviva, taking the Countess with him, leaves the room to get a crowbar. The characters themselves move scenery around and their entrances and exits are all on view to the audience. Below, Set Designer Leslie Travers explains his approach…. View production photos ». The Marriage of Figaro was written by one of the most famous composers of all time — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — The play had caused a sensation. Written at a time of revolution, its subject matter — of servants rising up and outwitting their masters — outraged the aristocracy.

This caused the play to be banned in many cities, including Vienna, where Mozart was based at the court of Emperor Joseph II. The plans were deemed acceptable and Mozart set to work, completing the music in just six weeks. To this day, Figaro is among the top 10 most frequently performed operas worldwide.

Remember these scenes? This was common practice in opera at the time. The Figaro overture does, however, give us a delectable foretaste of the mood of its opera: fleet, witty, often acerbic in its humor. The overture, it might be noted, originally contained a slow middle section with a melancholy oboe solo. But contrast be damned, Mozart wisely decided, and maintained the swirling, manically jolly mood throughout.