This somewhat daft tale provided a vehicle for excellent singing, acting and staging to provide an engaging if, I felt, slightly over-long evening at the ROH. In the last half-hour I was beginning to suffer from Mozart overexposure. Anyway, the story is of Figaro who plans to marry his fellow-servant Susanna. However, the Count has designs on her and the older and less enticing Marcellina has designs on him. Things go merrily along until towards the end Marcellina discovers Figaro is in fact a son she had after an affair nany years before with the very man - Bartolo - who is now Figaro's enemy in the household. It was at this point in the proceedings that I felt the curtain should have come down for the audience to go home and ponder upon this implausibility. Instead, we carried on with the count's wife pretending to be Susanna, Figaro thinking his beloved is indeed unfaithful and the Count making a fool of himself. Finally all is revealed and everyone is forgiven.
The moral that Mozart / Da Ponte seem to be advancing is that women are not to be trusted - but neither are men. All seem to be up for a bit of hanky-panky. Overall, it's a makes-you-smile rather than makes you think evening. Definitely well sung, well acted and well staged, it's a comforting event that sends the audience home happy.
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