Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Lyric Opera, 2009-1010

They saved the best until last. Last night my wife and I attended Lyric Opera’s production of The Marriage of Figaro. In my opinion it was the highlight of the season and one of the finest if not the finest production of Mozart’s great opera that I have ever seen.

The production was the same “realistic” production we’ve been seeing over more than 20 years. Anne Schwanewilms, the Countess Almaviva, was suffering bronchitis but performed anyway. I must say she soldiered on with enormous courage despite running out of breath at the end of phrases, occasionally being unable to hit notes, occasionally dropping passages. All of that notwithstanding she gave a fine performance and is to be commended.

Danielle De Niese is not the perfect Susanna. For example, at times her voice is just too small. However, as was the case with her Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare back in 2007, her acting is superb. Her energy and vivaciousness moved the other cast members to meet her and elevated the entire performance. This is not to slight her voice: her last act aria, Deh! vieni, non tardar was absolutely delightful.

I could probably find fault with each of the cast members but I won’t. The overall artistic effect of the voices and orchestra was overwhelming excellent. The matching and interworking of voices was felicitous in a way that too often isn’t the case at Lyric. The balances of voices and orchestra was sublime.

When you combine a decent production, fine voices, excellent acting and staging, and virtually perfect balance among voices and instruments, the result, despite obstacles, is a superlative performance and that’s what we attended last night.

My final ranking of the season: Marriage of Figaro, Faust, Tosca, Elixir of Love, Hernani, Merry Widow.

The Critics

John Von Rhein undoubtedly heard a technically better performance than I did but his conclusion is much the same as mine:

Lyric Opera of Chicago is concluding its season with a revival of Peter Hall’s celebrated staging of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” a production that has served as a kind of talisman for the company since it first graced the Civic Opera House in 1987. The show has been back several times over the years, with various casts, but when it returned to the company for the first time this season Sunday afternoon, there was a sparkle and vitality about it I don’t recall having witnessed since this “Nozze di Figaro” was new.

Credit must go, first of all, to an ensemble of singing actors as strong as any to be heard in an international theater. They made this intricate play of romantic intrigues, mistaken identities, raging adolescent hormones and rumbling class warfare tick like a fine Swiss watch. Thanks to them, Sunday’s audience found Mozart’s evergreen comedy of Eros a merry escape from the winter blahs.

Also contributing to the show’s success was the crisp, stylish and invigorating conducting of Lyric’s resident Mozartean, Andrew Davis, who made his Lyric podium debut with this same production a little more than a decade before he took over as the company’s music director. Under his trusty baton, the singing and orchestral playing were all of a piece: a seamless flow of music and drama.

That’s precisely what I heard. Well done!

Andrew Patner is singing from the same hymnal:

Sometimes it happens. A revival of a much-performed opera surprises us with its freshness and vigor. A cast that on paper might not immediately make us say, “oh, yes!” does just that in performance. And conductor and orchestra play a familiar score in a way that makes you fall in love with it all over again.

Such was the case Sunday afternoon when Lyric Opera of Chicago opened the last production of its season, Peter Hall’s frequently revisited 1987-88 staging of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Chicago Theater Blog:

Throughout all four acts, this cast sings and plays well together. It’s like watching a group of friends setting up good natured pranks to teach each other a lesson. Leading the playful spirit, Danielle De Niese (Susanna) is an adorable, lively sprite with pitch-perfect, comedic timing. Kyle Ketelsen (Figaro) delivers a solid bass-baritone performance as the ultimate cocky player. Anne Schwanewilms (Countess) laments the loss of her husband’s affections in a gorgeous rendition of “Porgi Amor”, and later vows to regain his love in “Dove Sono”. Within the frivolity of the frenzy of multiple charades, her arias are the quiet moments of true clarity and sadness of love lost. The Countess describes her husband as ‘modern: faithless, willful, not so much jealous, as vain.’ Mariusz Kwiecien (Count) embodies that description while – being the brunt of the shams – struggling at the same time. Kwiecien delivers his own spectacular aria “Vedro, mentr’io sospiro” with promises of vengeance to the pranksters. Joyce DiDonato (Cherubino) is a woman playing a boy sometimes playing a woman. She’s hilarious with her portrayal of a youth; a slave to his strong lustful infatuations. In a smaller role, Andrea Silvestrelli (Bartolo) makes his presence memorable with his booming bass singing. His aria “La vendetta” is magnificent. In particular, in one sequence, Silvestrelli squeezes his huge, rich voice through a series of rapid notes. Amazing.