Figaro and Susanna's Musical Love

Mozart's great opera buffa, The Marriage of Figaro, displays love not only comically but musically as well. The audience can expect to laugh quite often, as it is a comic opera, but to notice the romantic value behind Mozart's musical technique, one must be an attentive listener. Even if the main couple in the opera, Figaro and Susanna, sing in a foreign language, the listener does not always have to understand what they are saying. Mozart helps the couple express their love for each other in a different, more powerful language: music. Though it is what I might call a "universally unanswered question" - having no exact answer - the question "What is love?" is somehow answered through Mozart's musical genius with his choice of keys and ability to musically unite the two lovers.

Among his particular choice of key signatures, Mozart generally chose to write wedding scenes in G major. Skipping the overture, the opera immediately begins in this "wedding key". Although Figaro and Susanna are not legally married yet in Act I, scene one, the opening duet binds them in a musical marriage. First enters Figaro singing a strong "measuring" opening with his baritone voice, musically saying to Susanna, "I will be your man with my strong, masculine voice". His melody is presented to the listener in a steady rhythm of quarter notes in consonant interval leaps, which also seem to imply "Don't worry! I am solid, steady, and stable; I can catch you when you fall."

When Susanna finally makes her musical entrance in the opening duet, her notes flow smoothly and lack big steps, producing a charming effect to Figaro and to the listener. While the flute ceases to play during Figaro's manly entrance, the flute resumes its part after Susanna sings, adding a bit of sweetness to her musical love.