One of Mozart's most celebrated masterpieces, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), will be performed at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma from September 15 to 23, directed by Claus Guth. Conceived by Guth for the Salzburg Festival of 2006, this celebrated production of this opera is coming to Italy for the first time.
Written between 1785 and 1786, Le nozze di Figaro premiered in 1786 and is the first of three operas in Italian composed by Mozart, with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, who later wrote Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte for Mozart. The four-act opera is considered a masterpiece of operatic dramaturgy: the text is rich in plot twists, misunderstandings, and comic situations that maintain a fast narrative pace, with its plot about a pair of servants and a wife who oppose a despotic and lying master and husband. The story unfolds in the castle of the Count over the course of a "crazy day", rich in both dramatic and comic events, in a tightly woven plot. The servants Figaro and Susanna want to marry, but the Count tries to seduce Susanna, also imposing the "jus primae noctis" on the future bride. Through deception, disguises and an intricate game of misunderstandings, the Countess and Susanna finally unmask the Count, who asks his wife for forgiveness, allowing the wedding.
The Teatro dell'Opera's production offers a profoundly innovative interpretation of Mozart's masterpiece, offering a purely psychological interpretation and shifting the focus from a comedy of errors to a study of human relationships and couple dynamics. The story, set in the early twentieth century in a single stage designed by Christian Schmidt, the entrance hall of a bourgeois home with an imposing staircase, unfolds as a drama in which emotional tensions forcefully emerge. The action begins inside the Almaviva family home, but gradually the stage is transformed and the space is progressively invaded by the forest, which becomes the dominant setting. Thanks to Guth's direction, the forest becomes a mental and symbolic place, where the characters' repressed desires, fears, and unconscious impulses emerge.
To conduct the opera is Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, winner of the 2025 Abbiati Award for Best Conductor and making his debut at the Teatro Costanzi. On stage are Germán Olvera, alternating with Vito Priante as Count Almaviva; Roberta Mantegna, alternating with Federica Guida as the Countess; Martina Russomanno, accompanied by Benedetta Torre as Susanna; Erwin Schrott and Alessio Arduini as Figaro; and Elmina Hasan and Cecilia Molinari as Cherubino. The cast is completed by Monica Bacelli (Marcellina), Roberto Scandiuzzi (Bartolo), Marcello Nardis (Don Basilio), Blagoj Nacoski (Curzio), Jessica Ricci, and Alejo Alvarez Castillo (from the Fabbrica dell’Opera di Roma project, performing the roles of Barbarina and Antonio, respectively). Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; production by the Canadian Opera Company; choir directed by Ciro Visco.
Photo credits: Yasuko Kageyama
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