Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is one of the most popular comic operas of all time. Filled with amusing cases of mistaken identity and romantic subterfuge, plus music by a Mozart at the height of his powers, The Marriage of Figaro has stood the test of time for centuries.

Based on the play by Pierre Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro is a sequel to The Barber of Seville, which we performed at the Benedum Center in 2016. The story opens several years later, in Count Almaviva’s palace near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; but her husband has lost much of his interest in her and is a would-be philanderer.

Figaro, the happy bachelor at the end of The Barber of Seville, is in love with the Countess’s servant Susanna, who he plans to wed that very day. However, their employer Count Almaviva has his eye on Susanna. In fact, the Count intends to invoke the hated feudal practice of droit de seigneur - the infamous right of the lord to sleep with a commoner’s bride on her wedding night.

Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess are understandably outraged at this possibility, and are determined not only to prevent it, but to teach the Count a lesson while they’re at it.
Music Director Antony Walker conducts.