Metropolitan Opera Archives

Mozart's charming comic opera, "The Marriage of Figaro," ushered in a series of three operas presented in New Orleans by the Metropolitan Opera Association of New York, This performance Thursday night attracted a rather large audience of local opera goers to one of the greatest operatic works presented by a distinguished cast.

It is impossible to give an entirely accurate appraisal of the performance because of the acoustics of the Municipal Auditorium, especially on the large side, which was used to the disadvantage of all concerned. Except for Eleanor Steber as the Countess, none of the women's voices could he heard beyond the first few rows. Miss Steber's voice, at best, sounded forced in much of her singing. It must have been an especial disappointment to the many friends of Frances Greer that she was visible only.

By and large, most of the men's voices were powerful enough to carry throughout the auditorium. As could have been expected, Pinza, as Figaro, servant of the Count, made the most striking performance. Baccaloni, whose superb acting carried his role, did not exhibit vocal power of large quantity. Despite the unfortunate vagueness of singing the entire cast seemed not to be oversinging, which undoubtedly would have been less successful. The ensembles were visually effective.

The subject of Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" was the same subject Rossini used for his opera, "The Barber of Seville," taken from Beaumarchais' witty dramatic triology "Figaros." Unlike the conventional Italian operas of its time, Mozart's is not so proportionately an "aria" opera. and in "The Marriage of Figaro" less than half of the numbers are arias. This difference of' proportion indicates Mozart's attitude toward musical drama.

When we realize the date of the first performance of this opera, 1786, we are appreciative of Mozart's contribution to the field of opera. Mozart's power of characterization is nowhere more powerfully evident than in this opera, the libretto of which was drawn so faithfully by Da Ponte. The opera is not only a landmark in the history of opera, but in the life of the composer as well.

Mozart's skill as a dramatist lies chiefly in his mastery of the techniques of music as an art, Mozart had fully matured as a composer when he wrote "Figaro," he had completely outgrown a period of imitation. And with long experience in writing in all musical forms, he knew how to express his ideas in music with the fewest possible notes. Thus in logical conversations, we find these conversations carried out in the opera with little affectation, embraced by music so logical that regardless of language, the relative positions of the dramatic lines assume simple understanding, even to an uninitiated audience.

The performance was under the expert direction of Fritz Busch, whose handling of the orchestra resulted in a spirited and well integrated presentation, made completely ineffective, however, by conditions completely beyond the control of all concerned.

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Search by title: Le Nozze di Figaro,

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