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Thursday, April 9, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Mozart's 'Figaro' gives clever lines that coax smiles
The Marriage of Figaro is a 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday at Cradle-Prasoner Theatre, in Murphy Hall. Tickets are available at the Murphy Hall box office and are $4.50 and $3.50 each. Tickets cost $9 and $7 for the general public and $8 and $6 for senior citizens and other students.
"The Marriage of Figaro," Mozart's comic opera, opened Tuesday night at Crafton-Preyer Theatre with a strong performance by the University Theatre and department of music and dance.
Gil Chavez
Columnist
Under the fine direction of Zhuhuang Chen, the orchestra was the evening's star, but that is to be expected. Mozart's mischievous score coaxes a smile that doesn't leave until long after the final scene.
The versatile scenery on a revolving stage doesn't distract from the performance. The opera is set in a chateau outside Seville, Spain.
It opens with Figaro comparing the height of his beloved Susanna to the length of his wedding bed. She fits.
But Count Almaviva also desires Susanna's measurements.
When Figaro learns of this, he plans a small revenge against his master. But the plan is soon bungled, and the family must find an alternative, neatly inspired plans and counter-plans.
Cherubino, wide-eyed page boy.
played by Amy Christian, disrups many of the plans with his unrestrained infatuation with Susanna.
"Figure" first opened in Vienna in 1786. It seems as lively as ever, although it has suffered some minor indignities.
It is the first of three operas Mozart wrote for Lorenzo da Ponte's librettos. Originally written in Italian, it is performed in English. This is the operatic equivalent of colorization.
In fairness, Edward Dent's translation fits surprisingly well with the score, and gives the audience opportunity to enjoy the clever lines. Sometimes, however, the English clunks against the music.
against Strong singing makes these flaws easily forgiven. Kenn Woodward and Stephanie May Humes as the servants, Figaro and Susanna, are a charming couple.
They get exceptional support from Jeffrey Nolte and Evelyn Brabant as well.
Mozart wrote "Figaro" when he was at the apex of his wealth, so its mood is lighter than "Don Gionani," which was written a year later, when he began his long descent into debt. Mozart was staging his own concerts at the Burgtheater in Vienna rather than depending on royal patronage.
He encountered difficulty in receiving approval for the performance because it presented the servants too favorably and ridiculed the count. But for all its subtle politics, it still is a love-play.
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