Le Nozze di Figaro (Lyon National Opera) (1994)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Vincent
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Synopsis by Nathan Southern
Even to non classical buffs, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1786 operatic farce The Marriage of Figaro has provided some of the Austrian composer's most instantly recognizable music, its overture becoming a virtual icon of pop culture. Mozart adapted the action itself from a French stage play, a 1784 bedroom farce penned by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais; in Mozart's hands, Figaro became one of the most revived productions in modern history. The seasoned French theatrical actor/director Jean-Pierre Vincent mounted one of those revivals in 1994 at the Opera de Lyon, a production that comes to home video with the release of Le Nozze di Figaro. With a cast including Giovanni Furlanetto (as Figaro), Elzbieta Szymtka (as Susanna), Janice Watson, and Ludovic Tezier, and fanciful set design by Jean-Paul Chambas, Vincent draws from a thorough knowledge of French literature and stage tradition to successfully evoke the farcical overtones of the original piece. The result is one of the most critically lauded productions of Figaro in recent years.