News & Blog
A Happy Union: Tradition and Youthfulness in the Fort Worth Opera’s Marriage of Figaro
Date: 6/4/2012 By Evan Mitchell, Bachtrack
The 2012 Fort Worth Opera Festival, now nearing its conclusion, presented the last of its three performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro on Friday evening. A traditional approach governed everything from the modest yet handsome sets to the conservative musical interpretation. This was combined with brilliant direction, casting, and acting to produce a Figaro that was laugh-out-loud funny and musically sensitive, highlighting the composer (and his equally great librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte) as the true star of the evening.
Variety was essential to the success of this production. Each of the leads had a unique voice in its color and timbre, which also was well suited to the character. The voices alone lent innocence to Susanna, gravity to the Count, vigor to Cherubino, a distant poise to the Countess, and so on: qualities which were enhanced by generally tasteful and engaging acting. When done right, not much more than this is needed to unleash the power of a great composer. There was no radically modern staging or exaggerated musicality, and Mozart was no worse off for it.
-- Evan Mitchell, Bachtrack
Click here to read Bachtrack's full review.
Date: 6/4/2012 By Evan Mitchell, Bachtrack
The 2012 Fort Worth Opera Festival, now nearing its conclusion, presented the last of its three performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro on Friday evening. A traditional approach governed everything from the modest yet handsome sets to the conservative musical interpretation. This was combined with brilliant direction, casting, and acting to produce a Figaro that was laugh-out-loud funny and musically sensitive, highlighting the composer (and his equally great librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte) as the true star of the evening.
Variety was essential to the success of this production. Each of the leads had a unique voice in its color and timbre, which also was well suited to the character. The voices alone lent innocence to Susanna, gravity to the Count, vigor to Cherubino, a distant poise to the Countess, and so on: qualities which were enhanced by generally tasteful and engaging acting. When done right, not much more than this is needed to unleash the power of a great composer. There was no radically modern staging or exaggerated musicality, and Mozart was no worse off for it.
-- Evan Mitchell, Bachtrack
Click here to read Bachtrack's full review.
