THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Opens Tonight in PA

Mozart selected the Beaumarchais novel, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, then (1786) only two years old, and considered racy and banned in Vienna, possibly as a challenge. The characters include the protagonist Figaro, his fiancée Susanna and his employer's wife, Countess Rosina, all thoroughly human and lovable. Opposed are Count Almaviva, a scheming rake, his conniving friends, lawyer Bartolo and music teacher Basilio. Add to that the lovesick page Cherubino, the gardener Antonio, his daughter Barbarina and Bartolo's housemaid Marcellina. We find that Cherubino, infatuated with the Countess, will settle for Barbarina, who loves him. Bartolo wants Figaro to marry Marcellina but it develops that Figaro, a foundling, is actually their long-lost son! Meanwhile, the Count schemes to seduce Susanna, who plots with the Countess and Figaro to disrupt and expose his villainy. Of course, everything works out for the best.

How could a plot suitable for the Marx Brothers have become the basis for one of the most popular operas ever written? Simple. The music for voice is so extraordinarly beautiful as to carry all before it. No one can resist Figaro.

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