''Figaro Gets a Divorce'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

by the Russian-British composer

Elena Langer Elena Langer (born 1974 in Moscow) is a Russian-born British composer of opera and other contemporary classical music. Her work has been performed at the Royal Opera House, Zurich Opera, Carnegie Hall, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performin ...

to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and libretto, librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has di ...

. It premiered on 21 February 2016 at the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Background

''Figaro Gets a Divorce'' is conceived as a sequel"Figaro Gets a Divorce"
, Welsh National Opera website, accessed 19 March 2015. to

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's 1786 opera '' Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)'' based on the 1778 play '' La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro'', by

Pierre Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three #Figaro plays, Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watc ...

. This had been created by Beaumarchais as a sequel to his play '' Le Barbier de Séville''. The latter was also set as the opera ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' by

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

in 1816 (itself preceded by other versions, including a 1782 setting by

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born i ...

). Pountney, who in his capacity as Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Welsh National Opera commissioned the composition, was inspired in his libretto by two different theatrical follow-ups to these two plays, Beaumarchais's own ''

La Mère coupable LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

(The Guilty Mother)'', and

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901 – 1 June 1938) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the ''nom de plume'' Ödön von Horváth (). He was one of the most critically admired writers of his g ...

's 1936 play, ''Figaro läßt sich scheiden (Figaro Gets a Divorce).''WNO Briefing Note – "Figaro Gets a Divorce"
Wales in London website, accessed 19 March 2015 Both of these plays have previous operatic settings, the former by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

(1966),

Inger Wikström Inger Wikstrom (born 11 December 1939) is a Swedish pianist, composer and conductor. Biography Inger Wikstrom began studying piano in Stockholm at the age of six, and at sixteen played as soloist with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. She ma ...

(''Den brottsliga modern'', 1990), and

Thierry Pécou Thierry Pécou (born 1965 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a modern French composer. Works *''L'homme armé'' *''Le Tombeau de Marc-Antoine Charpentier'' pour 3 chœurs à voix égales, orgue baroque, basse de viole, positif et cloches (1995) *''A ...

(2010), the latter by

Giselher Klebe Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano work ...

(1963). The opera takes the characters into the period of the French Revolution. The opera was staged in Cardiff in sequence with the Rossini and Mozart operas, using the same set layout and many of the same singers. The set designs were by

Ralph Koltai Ralph Koltai Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Designers for Industry, RDI (31 July 1924 – 15 December 2018), was a German-born, naturalised British stage designer, who worked as associate designer of the Royal Shakespe ...

and Pountney himself directed all three operas. After Cardiff the work was also seen in

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and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. Alongside the "febrile and glittery soundscape" Langer created for the Almavivas' flight from revolution, there was also her "jazzier style that added the lighter mood and the element of hope". Langer has said that in the new opera, the character of Cherubino (a sex-obsessed young teenager in the Mozart opera) has become 'sleazier'; the role (which is travesti in Mozart) is to be sung by a

counter-tenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a sp ...

. Pountney has said

It has been a great inspiration to imagine the future lives of these great characters of operatic and theatrical literature, to see how they might be tested by events and, in many cases, emerge as stronger and more admirable people. Of course all three operas should stand on their own, but the audience that is able to experience all three will, I hope, enjoy a truly rewarding operatic journey.

Roles

Synopsis

The Count is fleeing with his household from a revolution in an unspecified country and time. They are captured at the border by the enigmatic Major who seeks to bring them under his power. He informs Angelika and Serafin that they are in fact brother and sister, Angelika being the child of a liaison of the Count. He also knows that Serafin is in fact the result of a one-night stand between the Countess and Cherubino, who is reported killed in battle. The Major hopes to marry Angelika himself, and takes

protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

from Figaro when the latter attempts to set up again as a barber. Figaro and Susanna quarrel, as Susanna wants a child and Figaro refuses to consider this in such turbulent times. Susanna encounters Cherubino, now known as 'The Cherub' and proprietor of a sleazy bar; he employs her as a

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...

. The Countess refuses to be

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

ed by the Major and confesses Serafin's parentage to the Count. Susanna also confesses she is pregnant, with The Cherub as the father. Figaro helps the family to flee the clutches of the Major back to the Count's castle, in the process he shoots The Cherub. The Major, who is a double agent also working for the forces of the Revolution, seeks to trap the others in the castle and arrange for their murder. However Figaro, Susanna, Angelika and Serafin escape through a secret passage, whilst the Count and Countess remain behind to face the music."Figaro Forever" (WNO Programme. Spring 2016), pp. 80-84.

Notes

Sources

* Rosenthal, Harold and John Warrack (1979). ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' (2nd edition). London: Oxford University Press. {{Authority control Operas 2016 operas English-language operas Operas set in France Operas by Elena Langer Operas based on plays