Le nozze di Figaro 2023
25, 28, 29 July at 19:00 • Matinée 27 July at 14:00
The Coade Hall, Bryanston, Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 0PS
An opera buffa in four acts written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1786 • Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte • Based on the stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais Une folle journée ou le Mariage de Figaro • Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) premiered in Vienna in 1786 with Mozart conducting from the keyboard. The applause of the exultant audience on the first night resulted in five numbers being encored. Upon its arrival in Prague that December, the newspaper Prager Oberpostamtszeitung called the work ‘a masterpiece’, and stated, ‘No opera (for everyone here asserts) has ever caused such a sensation!’
Considered to be one of the greatest operas ever written, The Marriage of Figaro, is a supreme masterpiece of operatic comedy. The rich sense of humanity shines out of every note of Mozart’s miraculous score.
Brief Synopsis
The story deals with the trials and tribulations of the Almaviva family and the Count’s desire to continue the practice of droit de seigneur. It tells how the servants Figaro and Susanna succeed in getting married despite the Count’s efforts to seduce Susanna – in the process teaching him (and we, the audience) a lesson in fidelity.
Cast & Creative Team
| Count Almaviva | Thomas Humphreys |
| Countess Rosina Almaviva | Jamie Groote |
| Susanna, the countess’s maid | Ellie Laugharne |
| Figaro, valet to the count | Ossian Huskinson |
| Cherubino, the count’s page | Amber Reeves |
| Marcellina, Doctor Bartolo’s housekeeper | Naomi Harvey |
| Bartolo, a doctor from Seville and a lawyer | Eddie Wade |
| Basilio, a music teacher | Aled Hall |
| Don Curzio, a judge | Aled Hall |
| Barbarina, Antonio’s daughter, Susanna’s cousin | Caroline Kennedy |
| Antonio, the Count’s gardener, Susanna’s uncle | Tim Bagley |
| Conductor | José Miguel Esandi |
| Director | Paul Carr |
| Designer | Rufus Martin |
| Costume designer | Stewart J Charlesworth |
| Lighting designer | James Smith |
| Chorus Master | Stephen Harris |
| Orchestra Leader | Emre Engin |
