The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s supremely human comedy, is often described as the perfect opera. Based on Beaumarchais’ play La Folle Journée (the crazy day) it is set in Count Almaviva’s palace and gardens in Seville. Figaro, valet to Count Almaviva, is about to marry Susanna, the Countess’s maid. The Almaviva’s marriage has soured due to his philandering and when Susanna confesses that the Count is now wooing her, Figaro is furious. He enlists the help of Susanna and the Countess to thwart the Count’s plan and teach him a lesson. Meanwhile, Bartolo, the Countess’s former guardian is seeking to settle an old score with Figaro and attempts to force him to marry the middle aged housekeeper Marcellina. Elsewhere in the Palace, Cherubino, an amorous teenager, is besotted with the Countess while Barbarina, the gardener’s daughter is infatuated with Cherubino. Much happens on a single crazy day until the various plots reach a climax in the garden that night, when the entire palace household stumbles across each other in the dark.

Generously supported by The Laidlaw Opera Trust