Figaro

This is an absolute must for lovers of this opera. I remember watching it live on TV, probably a PBS presentation, and was overwhelmed then and that was in 1985. Being able to finally own this brings back those memories and more. Where else could you assemble such a perfect cast. VanNess and Thomas Allen and the perfectly matched Count and Countess. Von Stade is world renowned for her Cherubino and is priceless here. You get to see her close ups as she is being sent "off to war" and they are a delight. Susanna is not an easy role, but the petite Kathleen Battle is perfect. Her beauty of voice and person are the perfect companion to Raimondi…

At long last, Bel Air Classiques has released a DVD of the Jun 2004, Theatre des Champs-Elysees (Paris), Rene Jacobs/Concerto Koln performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. Those productions along with the ones in Oct 2001 were a treat to attend and having a DVD of the 2004 event is a dream come true… By rhun10

Perhaps no opera is closely and affectionately associated with a single house as Le nozze di Figaro is with Glyndebourne. Effortlessly witty yet shot through with pain and sadness, this deeply ambivalent life in the day of masters and servants as they scheme and outwit one another was Glyndebourne's opening production in 1934. Michael Grandage's staging is the seventh, set in a louche Sixties ambience. Marshalled by the 'ideal pacing of Robin Ticciati, a youthful cast of principals has 'no weak link' and 'looks gorgeous' (The Sunday Times) in a production that continues Glyndebourne's rewarding history of engagement with Mozart's and da Ponte's 'day of madness'.