[Met Performance] CID:282600

New Production

Le Nozze di Figaro
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, November 22, 1985




Le Nozze di Figaro (280)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Lorenzo Da Ponte
Figaro
Ruggero Raimondi

Susanna
Kathleen Battle

Count Almaviva
Thomas Allen

Countess Almaviva
Carol Vaness

Cherubino
Frederica von Stade

Dr. Bartolo
Artur Korn

Marcellina
Jocelyne Taillon

Don Basilio
Michel S?n?chal

Antonio
James Courtney

Barbarina
Dawn Upshaw

Don Curzio
Anthony Laciura


Conductor
James Levine


Production
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Lighting Designer
Gil Wechsler





Le Nozze di Figaro received thirteen performances this season.

FUNDING:
Production gift of the Gramma Fisher Foundation, Marshalltown, Iowa and The Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust

Review 1:

Review of Donal Henehan in The New York Times
Opera: Raimondi and Battle as Lovers In the Met?s New ?Figaro? Production

Nine seasons is an inexcusably long time for any opera company to go without a performance of "Le Nozze di Figaro," but the Metropolitan made amends Friday evening with a new production of the Mozart masterpiece. Partial amends, at any rate; Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's clever but enormous sets worked only sometimes, often succeeding in dwarfing one of opera's most intimate works and diminishing the effect of several highly respectable individual performances.


The greatest strength of this performance lay in its pair of servant lovers, Kathleen Battle as Susanna and Ruggeri Raimondi as Figaro, with Frederica von Stade's Cherubino and Carol Vaness's Countess adding vocal quality to a cast that had its weak spots. Miss Battle's spring-water soprano and pert acting were a delight all evening, and her last-act aria, "Deh vieni, non tarder," caught Susanna's whole character in one affecting moment. James Levine, conducting his first "Figaro" in this house, gave her an especially expansive and sympathetic accompaniment here, and on the whole kept the score bubbling.


Mr. Raimondi, a particularly serious and full-voiced Figaro, sang with the ardor of a truly jealous man. He treated Cherubino; like a rival, not a boy to be humored, and roughed up the young Lothario with unusual enthusiasm before marching him off to the army in "Non pi? andri."


Mr. Ponnelle's direction also made Cherubino a genuine threat to Count Almaviva, whose maltreated wife clearly found the boy a disturbing sexual presence. Perhaps Miss Vaness fluttered a bit too obviously at his advances, but the point was tellingly made. Miss Vaness did not disappoint vocally, though it is possible to prefer a warmer soprano than hers for "Porgi amor" and "Dove sono," the Countess's great arias of nostalgia and introspection.


No singer was helped, however, by Mr. Ponnelle's decision to use almost the full depth and width of the Metropolitan's stage When Miss Vaness began her "Porgi amor" in her bedroom, she lay on a bed that looked nearer to Amsterdam Avenue than to the audience. For "Dove sono," she moved closer, thank you, but the sentiments in both arias were to some extent lost in the wide open spaces.


Mr Ponnelle, as is his habit, framed the action with decaying classical pillars, between which there usually was an archway and a kind of tunnel from which characters came and went. This may have been meant to delimit the scenes, but if so it did not work. The most effective scene was the [first] one, which put the future home of Figaro and Susanna closer to the footlights, under a stairway in what appeared to be a store-room, In an amusing directorial touch, Figaro was first espied measuring, not the room, but first the makeshift bed and then his bride-to- be. Another bit of ingenuity had the house lights going up so that Figaro could harangue the audience with his angry "Aprite un po' quegli occhi." An oddity that caught the eye, at least was Cherubino's intermittent appearance in a disguise featuring a wig that made him look like Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion.


Thomas Allen's Count Almaviva looked the part, but did not sing it. His baritone sounded small in caliber at all times and did not project the bottom notes at all. Artur Korn as Bartolo and Michel S?n?chal as Basilio) were assets. However, this production does not allow Basillo his last act aria and, as usual, also cut that of Marcellina (Jocelyne Tall ion) in the interests of propelling the drama to its comic though nearly tragic conclusion.

Review 2:

Stefan Janis in the Newark Star-Ledger
Metropolitan Opera?s ?Nozze di Figaro? augmented by original Ponnelle staging

One of the strengths of Jean- Pierre Ponnelle's new staging of Mozart's "Le None di Figaro" ("Marriage of Figaro"), now at the Metropolitan Opera, resides in its original treatment of a musico-dramatic element for which the ?opera buffa? is famous.

Nobody who has seen the opera does not eagerly await the open*ing moments of Act II, when Cherubino, Susanna and the Countess are surprised by the Count, and all but the Countess are forced to hide.

In traditional stagings, the amorous Cherubino locks himself in the Countess' bedroom, while Susanna hides behind a curtain, trying to avoid the Count's advances. Then, as the suspicious Count forces the Countess to go with him and get tools to break down the bedroom door, Susanna exchanges places with Cherubino. When the Count and Countess return, Cherubino is gone, and Susanna emerges from the bedroom, forcing the Count to beg his wife's pardon.

Ponnelle has chosen a staging that even more comical. Instead of having Cherubino lock himself in the Countess' bedroom, he locks himself in a closet. Above the closet, Ponnelle has conceived of a porthole, which when open, permits Cherubino to show his chin to the audience. From there, Cherubino can see the Count ranting and raving. And later, he sings part of his ?allegro assai? duet with Susanna from there.

Another strength of this new production lies in the casting of Cherubino. With Frederica von Stade in the role, one is half way to a successful production of this opera.

This absolutely delightful high lyric mezzo-soprano burst into our national consciousness in 1973, when she sang Cherubino in Giorgio Strehler's Paris Opera production of the Mozart opera. And from the open*ing night of Ponnelle's production, one gets the impression that her honeymoon with the role will never end.

Her boyish gestures, her pratfalls, and her voice, a voice that makes ?Voi che sapete? sound like a mating call of universal nature, are all gifts very few other singers can share.

Kathleen Battle also gives a jewel of a performance as Susanna. The soprano is so petite and nimble that she brings an aerial quality to everything she does on stage. In those [beginning] moments of Act II, she is largely the catalyst that makes all the humor c

ome across to the audience, as say, when Cherubino tries on women's clothing.

Indeed, Battle's vocal delivery of ?Venite inginocchiatevi,? while Cherubino is changing, is so dexterous and nimble it makes everything wildly funny.

Soprano Carol Vaness as Countess Almaviva sounds weak in the aria ?Porgi amor.? But the singer makes up for it with a richly hued delivery of ?Dove Sono,? which shows her to be a prize student of the Italianate school.

A good performance is also turned in by Ruggero Raimondi as Figaro, who imbues his recitatives with a liveliness too often absent in other singers. Figaro's recitative and aria in the last act, in which he goes from the extremes of tragedy to the comedy of the cuckolded, are both delivered in a richly sonorous voice by the baritone.

Sadly, it is not likely that this production will join the ranks of those immortalized by operaphiles. The problem resides with the pivotal role of the Count, which is played by Thomas Evans, and whose baritone voice does not seem suited to Italian opera at all.

In his Act III aria, ?Vedro mentr'io sospira,? his singing seems to be subtitled restraint. Expressivity would have been a far better subtitle when singing a song about liberating oneself from conventions.

In fact, Evans' whole manner on stage is wooden, leading one to doubt the possibility of his passion for Susanna.

On the other hand, Artur Korn, Jocelyne Tallion, Michel S?n?chal, James Courtney, Anthony Laciura and Dawn Upshaw all give excellent performances. And maestro James Levine accompanies the singers with Mozartean polish, rendering both the nine-voice finale of Act II and the sextet of Act III magnificently.



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