New Production The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro Synopsis

• Act One

  A sparsely furnished room.

  It is the wedding day of Figaro, Count Almaviva’s valet, and Susanna, the Countess’s maid. Figaro’s satisfaction with their future quarters turns to apprehension upon hearing from Susanna that the Count has offered them the apartment next to his own, making it easier to press his unwelcome attentions on Susanna (Duettino: Se a caso madama). If the Count wants to dance, he, Figaro, will call the tune (Cavatina: Se vuol ballare).

  Marcellina and Bartolo plot to prevent Figaro’s marriage. Eager to marry Figaro herself, Marcellina hopes to enforce the terms of an unpaid loan she had made to him. Bartolo joins her cause, longing to avenge himself for Figaro’s past offenses (Aria: La vendetta). Susanna and Marcellina exchange insults (Duettino: Via resti servita).

  Cherubino, the Count’s page, is miserable because the Count dismissed him after catching him in a tête-à-tête with Barbarina, the gardener’s daughter. He confesses to Susanna that he trembles at the sight of any woman (Aria: Non so più cosa son).

  When the Count approaches, Cherubino hides and overhears him wooing Susanna. Upon hearing Basilio approach, the Count also hides. Basilio has been acting on the Count’s behalf in his pursuit of Susanna. When Basilio hints that Cherubino is pursuing the Countess, the Count emerges from hiding and demands that the page be dismissed (Trio: Cosa sento?). As he tells how he caught Cherubino hiding at Barbarina’s house, the Count inadvertently uncovers him from yet another hiding place. Immediate reprisals are avoided by Figaro’s appearance with a group of peasants (Chorus: Giovani liete). To save face, the Count awards Cherubino a commission in his own regiment. Figaro sings the praises of military life encouraging the dejected Cherubino (Aria: Non più andrai).

• Act Two

  The Countess’s boudoir.

  The Countess laments the loss of her husband’s love (Cavatina: Porgi amor). She and Susanna are discussing the morning’s events when Figaro arrives with a plan: They will confuse the Count by sending him an anonymous letter alleging that the Countess is receiving a lover, but meanwhile Susanna will agree to meet the Count in the garden. Attending in Susanna’s place will be Cherubino, disguised as a girl. The Countess will interrupt the tryst and force the Count to withdraw all opposition to Figaro’s marriage.

  Cherubino sings a ballad to the Countess and Susanna (Canzonetta: Voi che sapete). The maid dresses him for his role in the plot (Aria: Venite, inginocchiatevi). When the Count knocks on the locked door, Cherubino hides in the closet. The Count is confronting his wife with the letter when a noise issues from the closet. The Countess claims that it is Susanna, but refuses to unlock the door (Trio: Susanna, or via sortite). Accompanied by his reluctant wife, the Count leaves to fetch tools to force the closet door open, locking the boudoir door on his way out. Once the two have left, Cherubino jumps out the window and Susanna takes his place in the closet.

  When the closet door opens (Finale: Esci ormai, garzon malnato) Susanna steps out, to the Almavivas’ astonishment. The Count’s suspicions are nearly assuaged, excepting the anonymous letter. The ladies reply that this was Figaro’s little joke, but Figaro arrives and denies any knowledge of it. The Count becomes doubly suspicious when Antonio, the gardener, reports that he saw a man jump out the window, leaving behind a military commission as evidence. Assisted by Basilio and Bartolo, Marcellina attempts to present her case before the Count.

• Act Three

  Great hall of the castle.

  Now with a plan of her own, the Countess orders Susanna to lure the Count to a rendezvous, to be kept by the Countess in disguise. Susanna carries out her mission (Duettino: Crudel, perchè finora). Upon overhearing Susanna whisper to Figaro that they have won their case, the Count vows to punish them both (Aria: Vedrò, mentr’io sospiro). While awaiting Susanna’s reply, the Countess is saddened to be reduced to these intrigues. Recalling happier days (Aria: Dove sono), she vows to change the Count’s heart.

  With their lawyer Don Curzio, Marcellina and Bartolo entreat the Count for justice, but Figaro insists that he cannot marry without his parents’ consent. Unfortunately, since he was kidnapped in infancy, their identity remains a mystery to him. A birthmark reveals that Marcellina and Bartolo are the parents (Sextet: Riconosci in questo amplesso). Arriving with money to pay Figaro’s debt, Susanna discovers him embracing Marcellina. Fury turns to joy when Susanna learns the truth – now there will be a double wedding.

  The Count learns from Antonio that Cherubino is still in the vicinity. A letter is dictated by the Countess to Susanna (Duettino: Sull’aria) and sealed with a pin. Susanna will deliver it to the Count, who will return the pin to her as a sign that the rendezvous will be kept.

  When the disguised Cherubino appears with some village girls, Antonio detects his identity. Barbarina saves the day by claiming Cherubino as her promised reward for a kiss she had given the Count. Seeing the Count prick his finger while reading the letter, Figaro surmises that a love intrigue is involved.

• Act Four

  Later that night, Barbarina searches for the pin, having dropped it in the garden (Cavatina: L’ho perduta). She explains to Figaro and Marcellina that the Count asked her to deliver the pin to Susanna “as the seal to the pine grove,” thus informing Figaro of the location of the tryst and the identity of the lady. Figaro rushes off to avenge all husbands, while Marcellina resolves to warn Susanna.

  Returning with Basilio, Bartolo, and a group of workmen, Figaro instructs them to hide until he gives the signal to surprise the Count and Susanna. Figaro rails against womankind (Aria: Aprite un po’ quegli occhi). Marcellina informs Susanna that Figaro is waiting in ambush. Susanna exaggeratedly longs for her beloved – fully aware that he is listening (Cavatina: Deh! vieni, non tardar).

  Disguised as Susanna, the Countess is visited first by Cherubino (Finale: Pian pianin le andrò più presso), then by her own husband, who offers a ring as a token of his love for “Susanna.” At the sound of Figaro’s arrival, the Countess flees. Disguised as her mistress, Susanna meets Figaro, and once he recognizes her voice, they reconcile their differences. The Count interrupts, thinking he has caught his wife with Figaro. Everyone emerges from hiding, and when the real Countess appears, the Count realizes that it is his own infidelities that have been revealed. The Countess forgives him and Figaro’s wedding celebration commences, finally unencumbered.