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Incisive Musicianship
'The Marriage of Figaro' in Arizona,
enjoyed by MARIA NOCKIN
When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his librettist, Lorenzo DaPonte,
decided to fashion an opera from Caron de Beaumarchais' French play Le
Mariage de Figaro, they were expecting the Viennese public to be
almost as anxious to see the opera as Parisian audiences were to see
the scandalous play. For Emperor Joseph II, allowing the opera to be
staged was a safety valve. He could control the libretto because his
censors had the power to shut down all performances if it ridiculed the
nobility too harshly.
Marie Plette as the Countess in Arizona Opera's 'The Marriage of Figaro'. Photo © 2006 Tim Fuller
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Playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) was a
commoner who had earned a great deal of money and joined the privileged
class. The character of Figaro is, to some degree, a self-portrait.
Beaumarchais started out as a watch maker, having learned the trade
from his father. He invented a tiny mechanism that enabled him to
construct a ring-sized time piece which he sold to Madame DuBarry. As a
result, the watchmaker was brought to court, and he made the most of
it.
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Copyright © 3 December 2006
Maria Nockin, Arizona USA
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