The Marriage of Figaro
4 stars
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Presented by Opera Atelier. Directed by Marshall Pynkoski. Tafelmusik Orchestra conducted by David Fallis. To Nov. 4 at the Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St. operaatelier.com or 1-855-622-2787
Is there room for laughter and pure entertainment inside our modern-world stewpot of gossip, confusion and angst stirred by Ashley Madison, Tinder and #MeToo groundswells?
Yes, indeed, declares Opera Atelier’s period-minded yet strikingly refreshing production of The Marriage of Figaro.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s perennially popular comedy of bad sexual manners tickles us with laughter, woos us with gorgeous music and, in the hands of director Marshall Pynkoski and his cast of wonderful singers, seduces us with impeccable craft.
Thursday night’s opening performance at the Elgin Theatre did not get a note, nudge or wink wrong as we careened madly through Figaro’s and Susanna’s convoluted machinations to make sure they get married despite the best efforts to get in the way by their lust-filled and deceitful employer and various conniving household hangers-on.
It helps a great deal that this production is entirely sung in English, using a clever and smooth translation by Jeremy Sams of Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto. Sams’ choice of metre and words blends seamlessly with Mozart’s music, even if those of us used to the Italian lyrics might occasionally feel a bit disoriented.
You might be interested in
In this revival of a 2010 production built on the stylized movements that are Opera Atelier’s hallmark, Pynkoski has double-underlined the commedia dell’arte aspects of the play, adding many nudges and winks to the audience, to let us know this is just a silly play and that no one here is taking themselves seriously.
Even in these complicated times, so different from when the opera had its premiere in 1786, the director’s approach allows us to easily suspend our modern disbeliefs.
Pynkoski has cast two golden young singers in those two lead roles. Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin turns on ingenuousness and cunning with equal conviction, and sings flawlessly. Her fiancé is more callow than cunning, played with endearing lack of guile by Berlin-based American bass-baritone Douglas Williams. He sings his part with ease and spontaneity.
The rest of the singers are equally up to their assorted dramatic, comic and vocal tasks, most notably bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus as the philandering Count Almaviva, soprano Peggy Kriha Dye as his equally distracted wife and mezzo Mireille Lebel in the trouser role of Cherubino.
Conductor David Fallis is a master of tempo, colour and texture in leading the singers and the period-instrument Tafelmusik Orchestra.
The whole, satisfying escapade is wrapped in vibrant colours by Gerard Gauci’s painted backdrops and Martha Mann’s costumes, straightforwardly lit by Michelle Ramsay. Because this opera does not require dancers, the corps de ballet, choreographed by Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, is used sparingly in ways that augment whatever is happening onstage.
Pynkoski has left no detail unattended, lifting this romp — a comedy that was considered socially subversive in the day when servants were supposed to submit unquestioningly and uncomplainingly to their masters’ whims — to the level of joyful entertainment as well as fine art. This is opera at its very best.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation