WNO Opera Look-In: The Marriage of Figaro

CUESHEET PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Opera Look-in

featuring scenes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s

The Marriage of Figaro With members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program and the WNO Orchestra Conducted by James Gaffigan Production directed by Peter Kazaras

Major support for WNO is provided

by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.

Servants, Masters, and Musical Mix-Ups Welcome to the Almaviva (pronounced ahlmah-VEE-vah) Palace in sunny Spain. Inside, you’ll meet the dashing Figaro (FEE-gah-roh) and beautiful Susanna (su-ZAHN-nah), a pair of very clever and funny servants. These two have their hearts set on getting married—TODAY! But there’s one very big problem: Figaro’s master, Count Almaviva, wants Susanna for himself. Can Figaro, Susanna, and the Count’s wife team up to teach the Count a lesson?

The Story Behind The Marriage of Figaro The Marriage of Figaro introduced the world to one of opera’s most famous dynamic duos: lyric writer Lorenzo Da Ponte and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Their works included stories about clever servants, carefree aristocrats (think of people with high rank, or more money and privileges), and complicated relationships between men and women. For this, their first project, Mozart and Da Ponte chose a plot that was so shocking they reportedly had to get special permission from their emperor to use it.

Who’s Really in Charge Here?

The play that inspired Figaro was disliked by audiences in Mozart’s day because it portrayed the rich and powerful as being clueless and dumb. This confused people at the time, because many believed wealth and titles like “lord” and “lady” made people smarter and “better” than the lower, poorer classes.

Figaro makes it very clear that the servants Figaro and Susanna are a lot smarter than their master.

With Figaro and Susanna always one step ahead of their employer, you may find yourself asking, “Who’s really in charge?” It’s possible that Mozart and Da Ponte thought that the master-servant system was a little ridiculous given how the world around them was changing. Men and women in America and France were challenging the idea that the people who were in power, the aristocracy of England and France, were always right and everyone else had to listen to them and serve them without asking questions. These new philosophies led to the American and French Revolutions.

Creating a Classic You may not know it yet, but you can probably sing along with a lot of the tunes from The Marriage of Figaro without any help. The songs are that famous. What goes in to creating a musical masterpiece that leaves people singing after more than 200 years? Read on to find out.

What Is an Opera Anyway?

An opera is a story told through music. Instead of speaking, the characters sing through their thoughts and emotions. Sometimes the characters sing by themselves and sometimes they sing in groups of two or more. There’s also an orchestra that plays with the singers and uses different combinations of instruments at different times.

What’s the Story?

The Marriage of Figaro takes place during a single day in the life of Figaro and his fiancée, Susanna.

While Figaro and Susanna prepare for their upcoming wedding, the Count Almaviva, who has a crush on Susanna, does everything he can to spoil the celebration. This, of course, makes his wife, the Countess Almaviva, pretty upset. Throw in a hysterical cast of supporting characters, including a girl-crazy teenage boy, a doctor with a serious grudge against Figaro, and an old housemaid with a shocking past, and you have a recipe for one of opera’s wildest comedies.

Meet the Characters

Things to listen for:

Operatic music calls for many different kinds of singing, from the very high to the very low.

Singers tend to fall into separate categories based roughly on how high or low they can sing. The Marriage of Figaro has several main characters that showcase some of the many different types of voices, including:

n how

Figaro, a manservant (baritone or bass—a middleor low-range male voice)

n how

the musicians help set a mood by playing or singing extra fast, extra slow, extra loud, or extra soft the solo songs feature instruments that support the singer but that sometimes play their own special melodies underneath

n different

opera vocal styles, including recitative, (RES-i-tey-tiv) when characters sing conversationally and advance the plot, and arias (AR-ee-yahs), when characters express a personal emotion and sing by themselves. Duets (two singers) and trios (three singers) are when multiple people sing together.

Susanna, a lady’s maid (soprano—the highest female voice) Count Almaviva (baritone—a middle-range male voice) Countess Almaviva (soprano) Cherubino, a pageboy (mezzo-soprano a middlerange female voice; this is called a “*pants role”) Antonio, a gardener (bass—the lowest male voice) Bartolo, a doctor (bass) Marcellina, his housemaid (mezzo-soprano) Basilio, a music teacher (tenor—a high-range male voice) *Note: In Mozart’s day, composers sometimes used pants roles, or women playing young male roles.

On Stage and Behind the Curtain Behind the Scenes of The Marriage of Figaro Orchestra Players

Located in the dark pit at the foot of the stage. Their instruments keep the opera on its musical feet and provide the singers with much-needed support.

The Conductor It takes a lot of work and a lot of people to create an opera—both on stage and off. As you watch today’s performance, keep some of these key players and important aspects of the show in mind:

In the Spotlight Singers

The ladies and gentlemen that are the stars of the production. Their voices are the most responsible for telling the story and expressing the emotions of the characters. Today these performers will be singing in Italian—even though their story takes place in Spain.

Sets and Props

Things that give the opera a sense of place, including the furniture in the Countess’s room, the fake letter that Figaro sends to the Count, and Susanna’s guitar.

Costumes

Anything the characters wear, including coats, hats, boots, and Cherubino’s female disguise.

Lights

Special lights that are set up all around the theater. These help you see the action onstage and give you hints about the story, such as the time of day. Plastic “gels” are used to change the color of the lights and metal “gobos” are used to create different shadows or textures.

In charge of all things musical. They keep the instruments and singers in time by maintaining a beat and also by giving clues as to how the music should sound (i.e., loud, soft, or furious).

The Technical Director

Oversees technical (electrical or mechanical) elements of the production, from lighting and sound systems, to moving set pieces, and beyond.

The Costume Director

Takes care of how the singers look and feel in their costumes, shoes, and accessories. The costume director also decides who wears what and when.

The Choreographer

Responsible for the opera’s coordinated movements, such as dances or fights.

For Teachers Dear Teachers: Here are some thoughts and activities to share with students before the curtain rises and a little bit of homework fun for when it comes down.

Before the Look-In Pre-Opera Prep

Ask students what they think the experience of opera might be like. What sights and sounds do they expect?

Be sure to point out that operas are similar to movies; they have something for everyone (comedy, action, thrills, etc.).

Playlist Shuffle

Have students consider what type of music they enjoy.

Do any of their favorite songs tell a story? Are the songs about love, broken hearts, or mistaken identity? Ask them to think about how these ideas can apply to an opera.

Fun with Instruments

Today, students will hear a full-sized orchestra. Can students list the four orchestra families? (Hint: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.) Ask students what instruments they can identify by ear. Have them listen for these unique sounds during the show.

After the Look-In Class Dismissed

For centuries, European lords held certain rights over their servants—many of which were cruel and unfair. Stories like The Marriage of Figaro, though hilariously funny, point to some serious struggles between the aristocracy and the working class. Have students consider these conflicts.

Do they think the aristocratic characters are entirely bad and the servants are entirely good? Or are things a little more complicated? Have students list which characters are their favorites and why.

Spoilers

Even though the opera is entitled The Marriage of Figaro, things constantly seem like Figaro and Susanna’s “marriage” is never going to happen. And it often looks as though the Count and Countess’s marriage won’t last very long either. How do students think the story will end? With Cherubino flirting shamelessly with the Countess, the Count flirting shamelessly with Susanna, Bartolo bent on revenge against Figaro, and Marcellina claiming Figaro as her own fiancé, do the students expect the main couples in the opera will stick together?

(Hint: Have students look for clues in the music. Think bouncy tunes, tongue-twisting words, or sudden changes in rhythm and volume.)

Congrats Susanna and Figaro, Love Wolfgang About the composer…

Even if you’ve never heard classical music before, odds are you’ve heard of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756– 1791). Mozart began composing at age five and went on to become a master musician, writing symphonies, operas, and more—all in just 35 years of life. Le Nozze di Figaro is one of three operas he created with the writer Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote all of the words to the songs you’ll hear today.

Mozart, who was born in Austria and lived in Vienna, had no problem writing operas in Italian— even when those operas were set in Spain!

Explore More!

Go to KC Connections on ARTSEDGE artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

Generous support for WNO Italian Opera is provided by Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello.

The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is made possible through the generous support of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, with additional funding provided by Judy and Billy Cox. This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director Washington National Opera

Michael L. Mael Executive Director Washington National Opera

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

WNO’s Presenting Sponsor The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2016 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts