BWW Reviews: Met Takes New FIGARO in Marriage for Season Opener

More than most stagings of Mozart's LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, the new Richard Eyre production that opened the season at the Met made it hard to remember that the miserable duo who head the household were the happy couple of Rossini's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA.

"Happily ever after?"

Count Almaviva (the wonderful Swedish baritone Peter Mattei) is no longer the head-over-heels young man who will use any trick in the book in order to win his beloved, but a Don Giovanni wanna-be, trying to get under the skirts of every woman in chez Almaviva. The Countess (American soprano Amanda Majeski) is no longer the spunky young woman who outwits her guardian to make the marriage of her choice, but a downbeat figure in gorgeous costumes, one of the "Bored Housewives of Old Seville."

All that remains constant in the two operas is Figaro (the charming Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov), the one-time barber of Seville and now servant to the Count, who can still outfox anyone--except his wife-to-be, Susanna (the delightful German soprano Marlis Petersen), that is. The new major addition to the menage is the young page Cherubino (a "pants" role showcase for the delectable American singer Isabel Leonard), who may possibly be the Count's offspring.

A Spanish "Downton Abbey"

If I make it sound like a downer, it is far from it, as directed by Eyre with sets and costumes by Rob Howell, lighting by Paule Constable and choreography by Sara Erde. Eyre has moved the setting from the 18th century to the 1930s, giving designer Howell the opportunity to come up with some stylish costumes that made me think of a Spanish "Downton Abbey," though his unit set didn't always work as well as it should have. Happily, the director had the good sense not to fool around with the sense or mechanics of the opera, which ends up being the downfall of so many updated versions of classic works.

The first half of the opera in particular, which combined Acts I and II, is pure farce, even in its sadder moments. And there is plenty of levity left over for Act III, where Figaro finds that the battle-axe, Marcellina (Susanne Mentzer), who has been trying to force him to marry her to settle a debt, is his birth mother (with her chief conspirator, Don Bartolo [Greg Fedderly], his father.) The finale in Act IV, however, brings a kind of catharsis (as "all is forgiven") that you wouldn't expect from an opera buffa, which should stand as a reminder never to underestimate the ability of Mozart to get to the listener's heart as well as ears.

Countess on the Sidelines

The only thing that I don't believe Eyre got right was the character of the Countess, who, at least in Majeski's hands, is moved to the sidelines and, thus, tampers with the balance of the opera. Her singing didn't help, either, with a tremor that I found unpleasant, though I seemed to be in a minority. The Countess's two arias, "Porgi amor" and "Dove sono" are key pieces of the score, but on this occasion, neither landed very well.

Luckily, the rest of the cast was able to pick up the pieces.

Abdrazakov--who gave a towering portrayal as PRINCE IGOR at the Met last season-- delivered a sensational performance in the title role and though this is considered an ensemble piece, he was certainly the center of the action and vocally quite persuasive. As his bride-to-be, Petersen was a delight, less ingénue and more adult than Susanna is in many productions. She served well both as co-conspirator with the Countess to hoist the libidinous Count on his own petard, and as a match for Figaro in every way.

A High Octane Count

Mattei's rich baritone, which was a standout in the Met's new production of PARSIFAL, picked up the slack from the low-energy Countess and took the opportunity to make a larger-than-usual presence of the Count. Since I saw Frederica von Stade as Cherubino when the Paris Opera came to New York for the US bicentennial, her interpretation has been the one I always cherished, but Leonard's page is a completely different animal. She's made the role her own, as the teenage boy with women on the brain. Her appealing voice and charming portrayal were perfect for this "teenager in love" with love.

Rounding out the cast were a cadre of character actors who worked to perfection, including John Del Carlo's Dr. Bartolo, Philip Cokorinos as Antonio (the gardener), and Scott Scully as the oily Don Curzio. Ying Fang was a sparkling Barbarina, who has her eye on Cherubino for her own ends.

What would FIGARO be without a great orchestra and conductor to lead it? That pretty much says it all, about the Met Orchestra under James Levine, which gave brilliant life to Mozart's long, nuanced score (particularly challenging with only one intermission). It's good that all that labor strife was settled before the season began--because it's nice to have them back where they belong.

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The October 18 matinee of FIGARO will be transmitted live around the world as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 2,000 movie theaters in 68 countries.

Photo: Marlis Petersen as Susanna and Ildar Abdrazakov as Figaro in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro."
Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

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