New Orleans Opera: "The Marriage of Figarro"

Le Nozze di Figaro

Saturday October seventh New Orleans Opera still shaken by the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina premiered Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. The performance was fantastic based on the notion of all the New Orleans Opera has gone through since the late hurricane has swept through leaving them not only with lost audiences, actors, and actresses, but even without their own opera house. As results of this the performance given was shown at Tulane University in the McAlister auditorium. This presented quite many difficulties from the very start of the show however the many difficulties I am sure the opera company had gone through did not shake their confidence to present a very captivating performance, the first since Hurricane Katrina.

The Marriage of Figaro was originally written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and is considered one of the more popular operas to the general public. The story of the Marriage of Figaro is a comedy of love and desire that meddles among a total of 10 separate characters. The beginning act opens up with a scene in one of the bed rooms of the Count Almaviva's estate sometime in the late 18^th century. The scene opens up with Figaro one of the servants to the Count counting out spaces to fit furniture in the room preparing for his marriage to the maid Susanna. Within this scene Figaro learns how the Count has feeling and longs a desired relationship with Susanna who is soon to be betrothed to Figaro. Very upset Figaro and Susanna vows to outwit their master in trickery. Before long however within the same scene Marcillina the housekeeper to Bartolo enters the scene demanding for Figaro to marry her to cancel a debt he cannot pay. Here in also shows up later in the scene as Cherubino a young boy who tells of his wish to long be with the Countess Almaviva. This scene brings massive confusion in the love triangle as while this is taking place Cherubino has no clue that the Count is hiding in the room listening to him express his desire to the Count's wife.