Le nozze di Figaro

Stephen Medcalf's production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro celebrates the reopening of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House after two years of closure, and what a celebration it turns out to be! Thanks to Gerald Finley as Figaro, Alison Hagley as Susanna, Renée Fleming as the Countess and Andreas Schmidt as the count, and the London Philharmonic conducted by Bernard Haitink, I sat spell-bound for just over three hours of fantastic singing and wonderful acting. The libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte turns the 1778 play by Beaumarchais into a typical silly comedy on the battle between the sexes very similar to some of Shakespeare's comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream. That means that we are presented with lots of confusion, mixed identities, a boy dressed up as a girl (Cherubino, very well done by Marie-Ange Todorovitch), hilarious dialogue with lots of double entendre and a very satisfying, humane, happy ending. As far as I am concerned the absolute star of this production is Alison Hagley whose fantastic acting (at least as good as her singing) moves the play along to its inevitable end.

The only points of criticism is the occasionally shrill quality of the recording and the at times unimaginative camera work and/or cutting which sometimes detracts from the drama as when we are offered a close-up when you can tell from the audience's reaction that a fullshot is required (they laugh at a joke not shown on screen), or the shots taken from such a height as to present the stage scenery in an unfavourable light (completely out of perspective). But these are minor points in an otherwise wonderful production.

I do have a fondness for the 1975 Jean-Pierre Ponnelle film because I am a fan of both Mirella Freni and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and of course Hermann Prey is one of the best Figaros I've seen. But I absolutely love this production, the three hours just fly by, it looks wonderful and the singing is top notch.

Mozart's music is masterpiece status, there isn't a single aria from the opera I dislike, and the story has a timeless quality in that you can watch the opera over and over and find a new scene or situation to love each time.

The costumes are gorgeous without being too fluttery, and the sets especially the act 4 garden set are very pleasing. The camera work on the whole is nifty too, the orchestra are stylish and Bernard Haitink mostly chooses well-judged speeds and conducts with precision, something that I felt was an improvement over the 1975 film, where in comparison to this the recitatives especially feel somewhat stodgy.

The performances are exceptional. Alison Hagley is the one who steals the show for me as Susanna, she has a beautiful voice and is so natural and charming in her acting. Matching her in every way as Figaro is Gerald Finley who has a lively acting style and a quality to his voice that appeals to you. Renee Fleming is a lovely Countess, and does a fine job coping with the slow speed of her act 3 aria. Singing like a nightingale and looking suitably cherubic is Marie-Ange Todorovitch as Cherubino, and Andreas Schimdt is simply born to play the Count.

My only small complaints of an otherwise sublime production are that in the act 2 ensembles the singers are occasionally left behind, also for my liking Donald Adams(Antonio) sings his vowels a little too widely.

Overall, sublime. 10/10 Bethany Cox