The performance is not an adaptation, transcription or a recasting, but an entirely new and independent stage piece. The mixture of different languages (Italian, Hungarian) further increases the dramatic effect. Equal emphasis is laid on the classical sound articulation of opera singers, the more simple and natural singing of actors and the static and dynamic possibilities of stage situations arising from the interaction of prose manifestations and bodies. The theatre play uses the instruments of physical theatre and music to futher explore the timeless morale of the story and the dramatic situation. The piece is based on Claudio MonteverdiРІР‚в„ўs 1638 scena when the Crusader knight Tancred fights Clorinda, the pagan girl to a tragic ending.

This production proposes to show nothing less. Mozart expresses life itself in his music and his plays the inescapable duality of tragedy and comedy. This duality is expressed best in the figure of the Countess, whose character is almost entirely dramatic. He is always ready to use comical gags with irresistible humour, while also readily conveying the tragedy of situations. MozartРІР‚в„ўs genius lies in the fact that he skillfully combines the elements of opera buffa and opera seria. РІР‚Сљ Komische oper РІР‚Сљ, proclaims the musical score. It is us, humans, who have stayed the same. Even after 232 years, every single sound and word is still valid. This explains why it is almost irrelevant where and when Figaro is rendered. Mozart intended to address much more than the issues of a particular era, his main interest lying in man itself, together with all its vices and aspirations. In response to the strict censorship of the era, Mozart and Da Ponte tried to dampen the harsh social criticism of the French writer in their opera (even though it is still pretty obvious that the deleted content is still expressed through the score). This is a 232-year-old masterpiece inspired by a highly influential and controversial play by Beaumarchais, which premiered five years before the French Revolution.

Alex p. michaels festival director