The Stage

The Marriage of Figaro

Published Wednesday 10 March 2010 at 11:10 by George Hall

James Conway’s perceptive production of Mozart’s famous comedy joins the ETO repertory for the company’s spring tour. It’s a handsome looking show, with Agnes Treplin’s period designs suggesting the interior and exterior locations in the Spanish castle of Aguas Frescas economically, yet with unerring skill, and the pre-revolutionary context of social hierarchies starting to melt lightly sketched in.

The staging is also astute in telling the story - a far from easy matter given the minute detail of the opera’s plotting. With more words coming over than they currently do, things might be clearer yet.

The cast is a strong one. Laura Mitchell fields a soprano full of feeling as the countess and cuts a moving figure. Her husband’s arrogance is impressively developed by Nicholas Lester, whose aria is a highlight. Robert Davies makes a likeably engaged Figaro. Eliana Pretorian’s Susanna needs to make her quick-wittedness more visible, but her vocalism is neat and graceful.

As the young page Cherubino, Niamh Kelly remains resolutely female in a male role, but again sings attractively. There are comprehensively excellent contributions from Andrew Slater’s firm Bartolo, Lise Christensen’s feisty Marcellina and especially Mark Wilde’s busybody Basilio.

Best of all is Michael Rosewell’s distinguished conducting and the pristine orchestral playing, which would be hard to better. Overall this should prove a near ideal introduction to the opera as it tours Great Britain and Northern Ireland between now and the end of May.