Cristina María will appear as SUSANNA in Le Nozze di Figaro

Director’s Note by A. Scott Parry

In May of 1786, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaropremiered in Vienna where it was received with mixed reviews due to the difficulty of its music and complexity of its plot. However, six months later, it went north to Prague where its success was nearly ubiquitous. Said Mozart, “Here they talk of nothing else but Figaro. Nothing else is being played, blown, sung or whistled than Figaro. No opera more attended than Figaro, and forever Figaro!”

Figaro today is considered by many to be the “perfect opera.” Its arias are succinct and memorable, its emotions clearly worn on its sleeve, its characters and story eternally compelling. With Figaro, Mozart provides us a treasure map to the inner workings of the conflicted human psyche, brilliantly placing the sacred side by side with the profane, crashing humor and tragedy together in all their incongruity. It is here we witness the struggle of complex characters trying desperately to overcome their many failings while attempting to make meaningful connection within a compromised society. The answer to the question of “how” is simply love. This is the answer Mozart provides, finding its zenith at the end of the piece in the most celebrated moment in all of opera, wherein the Countess steps into parity with the Count in order to bestow the power of forgiveness and mercy to put everything aright.

Though nearly 250 years old, Mozart’s work remains utterly contemporary, ever modern, in that he gives voice to the very nature of human existence in all its sordid, sublime, joyous, crazy, perfect messiness.

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