33rd Mozart Festival in Warsaw
Theatre of the Warszawska Opera Kameralna
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
Le Nozze di Figaro
Comic opera in four acts in the Italian language version
Recitatives translated into Polish by Stanisław Barańczak
Composer | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto | Lorenzo Da Ponte
Premiere | 27 April 2019
Music director: Piotr Sułkowski
Staging and director: Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz
Set design: Wojciech Stefaniak
Costumes: Katarzyna Szczurowska, Anna Skupień
Choreography: Jarosław Staniek
Lighting director: Piotr Pawlik
CAST:
Count Almaviva | Hubert Zapiór
Countess Rozyna | Karina Skrzeszewska
Susanna | Aleksandra Orłowska
Figaro | Artur Janda
Cherubino | Jan Jakub Monowid
Marcelina | Elżbieta Wróblewska
Basilio | Aleksander Kunach
Bartolo | Dariusz Machej
Antonio | Maciej Miecznikowski
Barbarina | Anna Górska
Don Curzio | Jacek Ornafa
Dancers | Arkadiusz Jarosz, Patryk Rybarski, Sebastian Piotrowicz, Jakub Piotrowicz
Harpsichord | Dorota Stawarska
Period Instrument Orchestra of the Warszawska Opera Kameralna
Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense
Conductor
Adam Banaszak
“The Marriage of Figaro” always seduces: with the charm of its arias, the lightness of vocal tones, a gallery of unusual characters (sensual Susanna, celestial Cherubino, melancholic Countess, bold Figaro, brutal Count), and bravura finales that spice things up with a cascade of events and ingenious solutions. The same is true for the captivating lightness of Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz’s production, seasoned with a dash of charm and humour in Piotr Sułkowski’s musical interpretation. The director plays with the characters, exposing their weaknesses, highlighting emptiness and lust; sharp features are softened with humour and metaphor, enlivening the action with gesture and pantomime. Mozart’s music gives the whole a smoothness and accelerates the action of the work.
The music entertains – perhaps because Mozart wrote it in complete happiness, free from constant struggles for existence. “In Vienna, there almost comes a «fashion» for Mozart – writes the biographer Stefan Jarociński – everyone surrounds him with consideration and recognition, as he probably hasn’t enjoyed since his «wonderful childhood». He is invited everywhere to private «reunions» and public academies. He attends the best houses”. His first Viennese opera was the singspiel The Abduction from the Seraglio (16 July 1782, Burgtheater), followed by The Impresario (7 February 1786, Great Orangery Schönbrunn). Finally, on 1 May 1786, the world heard and saw for the first time The Marriage of Figaro to the libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte based on the comedy by Beaumarchais.
In the Italian-German edition of the score published shortly after the premiere, da Ponte called the opera “un quasi nuovo genere di spettacolo”. Undoubtedly, without The Marriage of Figaro, there would be no Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, or even The Magic Flute. Mozart was indeed opening a new, completely unknown chapter in the history of theatre. “How did he know so much about theatre?” – asked the great Italian director Giorgio Strehler. And he answered: because he was a born man of the theatre, not just a composer who was associated with the theatre. His music reflects movements, pauses, external and internal postures, the colour of situations, dramaturgical turning points. Strehler also said: “The ultimate difficulty lies in transferring these interpretive indications onto the stage in a clear and meaningful way”. Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz managed it flawlessly.
Reviewers did not skimp on post-premiere praises. “Situations on the stage change quickly. Gags are funny. The props include a scooter, which is now pervasive in the streets of Warsaw. The director, taking advantage of the very close distance between the stage and the audience in this theatre, «ordered» the singers to play with facial expressions. The play with looks and grimaces of the face is important in this staging because the recitatives are performed in Polish in a humorous, sometimes coarse translation by Stanisław Barańczak. Polish subtitles during arias sung in Italian also “screen” in a translation according to Barańczak. […] I do not mind breaking the convention as long as it is done up to the mark. And that’s what happened in this case” (Alina Ert-Eberdt). “From the orchestra pit, the energy, or even the euphoria of the instrumentalists of the Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense orchestra, playing under the baton of Piotr Sułkowski, poured out directly. The euphoria flowing from this brilliant score spread to the soloists and the audience, and was intensified by the farce style of the performance” (Małgorzata Komorowska).
“Voi che sapete, che cosa è amor” (“You who know what love is”) – sings Cherubino in one scene. We, after seeing this “The Marriage of Figaro”, know perfectly well what a good and enjoyable opera is.