David McVicar brings out the best in a young cast for this eleventh revival of his 2006 production of Mozart’s glorious Marriage of Figaro. As he has shown in many other productions, McVicar combines total respect for the intentions of the original composer and librettist with a knack for sensing the strengths of the individual cast members. Each time he returns for a revival, he makes slight but significant embellishments to meld everything together in the best possible way. When the cast is as young and enthusiastic as this one, the result can be glorious.
Italian baritone Luca Micheletti gave a powerful display as Figaro, bringing out the character’s hostility towards his employer Count Almaviva who was played with equal vigour by British baritone Huw Montague Rendall. The Count’s sinister plans to seduce Figaro’s bride Susanna and Figaro’s convoluted scheme to foil him provide great comic potential, brought out perfectly in this production.
Chinese soprano Ying Fang as Susanna and Italian-American mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson as Cherubino are both making their Royal Opera debuts in excellent style. Ying Fang has a beautifully pure voice, perfect to bring out the charm of Mozart’s music, while Costa-Jackson impresses in both her singing and acting abilities in displaying the cheekiness and frustration of the mischievous lovelorn pageboy.
All these performances are enhanced by individual repertoires of gestures and grimaces which considerably add to the humour. I do not know whether these are examples of McVicar’s meticulous care for detail or the singers’ own spontaneous embellishments, but it does not matter. With the cast seeming to enjoy themselves as much as the audience, it all added to the apparent freshness of this revered production.
The joy was completed by a fine performance from the Royal Opera House orchestra, impressively conducted by Julia Jones at a good pace to keep the singers and instrumentalists perfectly together throughout.
My ultimate test of any Mozart opera is always to ask myself whether the composer himself would have approved. Had he seen this, I feel sure he would have been enjoying himself greatly, laughing and applauding along with the rest of the audience. A great production of a wonderful opera with fine performances from a hugely talented cast. An evening at the opera does not come any better than this.
The Marriage of Figaro is playing at the Royal Opera House until 15 September. Box office: rbo.org.uk or 020 7304 4000
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