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Review of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts The Marriage of Figaro by Opera Colorado. Directed by David Gately at the Elite Caulkins Opera House, Denver, Colorado, 14 February, 2012.
Opera Colorado opened its thirty-ninth season with all the vigor and effervescence contained in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Following the celebrated The Barber of Seville, the second of Beaumarchais' tales of the adventures of Figaro debuted in Vienna on May 1, 1786. Its dazzling libretto by Lorenzo de Ponte and Mozart's delectable score capitalized on the commedia dell' arte tradition and invoked the relatively new comic opera mode, the opera buffa, effectively marrying the two in one of the most beloved operas to hold the stage for over two hundred years.
After assisting Count Almaviva in winning the hand of the beautiful Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Figaro, now the count's valet, is ready to marry his own beloved Susanna, Countess Almaviva's maid. The wedding is to take place at the count's country estate, and all is being readied for the happy event.
At the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, home of Opera Colorado, the scene opens on the morning of the wedding day. Figaro (Simone Alberghini) and Susanna (Ava Pine) joyfully sing while he measures their new room for their marriage bed and she tries on her veil. Although happiness seems the order of the day, the...