By Linda Loomis
Contributing Writer
Youthful exuberance pervades Syracuse Opera’s “Marriage of Figaro,” creating a vibrant production of Mozart’s 1786 four-act opera buffa. On Friday, Conductor Douglas Kinney Frost, in pre-show remarks, described the performers as his “dream cast.” It was a prophetic statement; their voices were heavenly, and their acting delightful in scene after scene of mayhem, confusion and duplicity on the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna.
The ardent young servants are eager, but the wedding is in jeopardy from two sources: Figaro’s employer, Count Almaviva, who has designs on Susanna, and Marcellina, an older woman, who yearns for Figaro, insisting he must either pay an old debt or marry her.
Thomas Forde brings 20-something Figaro to life with a little slapstick and a lot of talent. His portrayal ranges from that of a child-like, gangly youth when his parentage is revealed, to a sophisticated suitor when he romances Susanna, disguised as the countess. Forde’s fluid baritone voice is consistently expressive throughout his energetic performance. He is hale and hardy on an Act I song, advising Cherubino to forego philandering and become a soldier, and his delivery is heartrending on the Act IV piece in which Figaro acknowledges that he is a betrayed husband.
Amanda Pabyan interprets Susanna as a capable, strong young woman, one who can surmount hurdles that threaten to keep her from marrying her true love. Her Act II aria as she puts girl’s clothes on the lusty Cherubino, a pants role played perfectly by Irene Roberts, reveals her perfect comic timing. In Act IV, in the garden of the count’s castle, Pabyan pulls all the emotional stops, praising nighttime and nature, then, calling for her lover, a ruse to tease Figaro, who is spying on her.
Count Almaviva, Corey McKern, and Countess Almaviva, Danielle Pastin, represent wealth and power in the opera, but they are discontented because of the count’s philandering. He never gets what he wants from Susanna, and the countess wants only him. The crystalline tone of Pastin’s soaring soprano voice is showcased in Act III with a recitative and aria in which she longs for the happy marriage she once knew. McKern, baritone, displays a range of emotion in his Act II recitative and aria that first has him joyful at the prospect of meeting Susanna later in the garden, then has him livid that he thinks she has tricked him.
Figaro is largely an ensemble opera, with only half of the 28 numbers for solo voice. Cast members Neal Ferreira, John Rozzoni, Julia Grella O’Connell, Melanie Brunet Relyea and Danan Tsan, as well as members of the Syracuse Opera Chorus, all contribute to the outstanding vocal music of the production. Especially notable is the finale to Act II, a perfect marriage of music and drama, building with the various entrances to a stunning, unified voice at the conclusion.
Symphoria was in the pit, with Kinney Frost conducting at a harpsichord. And, from the brightly rendered overture throughout the performance, the musicians provided fine orchestral voice. Penny Gilbert’s sets were cleverly comprised of five mobile units that represented doors, windows, archways, or garden arbors at various scenes in the opera. Patricia Hibbert designed costumes in clear hues, assigning specific colors to each character. Marc Astafan, stage director, kept the cast in constant motion; Adam K. Frank's lighting design, worked with all the other elements to the success of every chaotic scene.
Nothing is as it seems in “Figaro” until the stunning finale, when everything is illumined, order is restored, and turmoil is replaced by reconciliation. Count Almaviva repents and receives his wife’s forgiveness. Then, in the pure beauty of Mozart’s finale, the principal characters sing of love and shared happiness. It is easy, having heard the audience’s cheers Friday night, to understand why “The Marriage of Figaro” is a cornerstone in opera programming and why it is so often referred to as “the people’s opera.”
NOTE: "The Marriage of Figaro" will be performed Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. at the Crouse-Hinds Theater, John H. Mulroy Civic Center.