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Lisette Oropesa, right, sings the role of Susanna in the New Orleans Opera production of Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro,' April 10 and April 12, 2015. (New Orleans Opera)

Do you go to hear the opera or see the opera?

Historically, audiences usually have emphasized the auditory experience, with the music taking precedence over anything actually happening onstage.

More and more in recent decades, however, the stage directors and designers have gained the upper hand over the proceedings. While that has resulted at times in outlandish productions with concepts far removed from the original intent of a composer or librettist, a theatrical sense of reality has done away with the image of the 300-lb. singer playing the courtesan purportedly wasting away from consumption.

As the New Orleans Opera Association wrapped up its 72nd season this weekend (April 10-12) with a staunchly traditional staging of Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro," audiences were reminded of the sheer beauty of hearing the opera.

And why not? It is Mozart, after all, so it's not surprising that as much attention was drawn to the orchestra pit as to anything happening on the stage at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.

From the pit, company General and Artistic Director Robert Lyall conducted the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra through the familiar score but finding within it a breath of fresh air. Throughout, one could focus on the score with the same intent as one of Mozart's symphonies or other purely orchestral works.

From the start of the pulsating overture that signals the drive of the entire opera, Lyall maintained an insightful balance, never losing the sense of sprightly joy that exudes from so much of the work. Throughout the performance, everything emerging from the pit showed a sparkle of wit as well as an inherently graceful beauty. The strings were especially effective, dynamic throughout, with the winds and brass providing both color and emotional renderings, tender when necessary.

For a work so often halted by the shift to recitatives accompanied by the harpsichord (is there a duller instrument in Western music?) Lyall and the LPO revealed the seamless symphonic unity of the opera, even if the action onstage meandered.

The staging by director Harry Silverstein was as by the book as it gets, resulting in a mildly pleasing but single-dimension production. Within its traditional setting, Silverstein had his cast play it almost purely for the laughs, overlooking the subversive subtext of da Ponte's libretto, inspired by Beaumarchais' revolutionary text.

Vocally, the opera was consistently sung and the balance between the stage and the pit was evenly maintained.

Soprano Lisette Oropesa returned home to sing the role of Susanna, bringing an alluring lyricism to the stage. Her rendition of "Deh vieni, non tardar" was especially sweet. Oropesa also is a fine comic actress, capable of raising the buffoonery of it all a notch or two.

Soprano Twyla Robinson brought the most heart to the performance as the Countess. With "Porgi amor," Robinson cut to depth of sadness and misery experienced by the girl we once knew as the cheerful Rosina. A particular simpatico between the pit and the singer came through as Lyall and the orchestra connected fully with her in this aria, creating an added layer to her yearning.

The Figaro of bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas was sound. His "Non piu andrai" was rock solid, and captured the general air he brought to the role. Baritone Keith Phares brought a striking stage presence as Count Almaviva, as well as a strong voice; his range throughout the performance impressed.

In the trouser role of Cherubino, mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne charmed, sweetly singing "Voi che sapete," while fairly passing as a teen boy.

Though generally in good voice, as Marcellina, Bartolo and Basilio, respectively, Cynthia Sadler, Thomas Hammons and Torrence Blaisdell were saddled with being the cliched flat caricatures we've seen all too often.