Le Nozze di Figaro
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Bonney, Abdrazakov
Photo by Robert Millard
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By Michael Van Duzer
For their contribution to the Mozart anniversary, Los Angeles Opera revived its 2004 production of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO. Mozart’s bittersweet masterpiece proved an extraordinarily apt choice as it was the final production conducted by Kent Nagano in his role as principal conductor and music director for the company. His guiding hand will be greatly missed.
Director Ian Judge’s production rightly focuses on the brilliance of the Mozart/Da Ponte collaboration, eschewing the heavy-handed political overtones directors often bring in from the Beaumarchais source material. This is not to say that the production is soft or muted. Da Ponte’s wit still crackles, and the servants eventually foil their master’s underhanded plans, but the soul of the opera is Mozart’s understanding of the characters’ humanity. Judge allows us to experience this.
Two seasons ago, the Figaro and Susanna were glamorous, charismatic, and sexy. Their exuberant lovemaking was so seductive that it often overshadowed the other characters. This year the four principals were more equally matched.
After a shaky first scene, Barbara Bonney’s Susanna took charge of the proceedings with her radiant tone and nuanced acting. Her “Deh vieni non tardar” in the final act was a lesson in vocal style and character shading. Ildar Abdrazakov’s Figaro was less showy than his predecessor, but he brought a solid assurance to the role that easily explained Susanna’s devotion to him.
Adrianne Pieczonka proved an elegantly wounded Countess; her achingly beautiful arias of lost love were highlights of the evening. Returning from the previous cast,
David Pittsinger has grown in stature and confidence, revealing a more complex reading of the Count.
Lucy Schaufer’s pint-sized but generous-voiced Cherubino was cocky, ebullient, and downright lovable. Anna Steiger was a properly shrill and annoying Marcellina who made her scenes count, while Michael Gallup proved an underpowered Bartolo. Greg Fedderly proved just as oily and memorable in his characterization of Basilio as he had in the original production.
In the pit, Nagano’s imprint was everywhere: in the quicksilver gallop of the Overture, the nimble pulse of Figaro and Susanna, the controlled grace of the Count and Countess and, of course, in the transcendently sublime music Mozart wrote for the moment when the Countess forgives her straying husband. There are not superlatives enough to describe what Nagano has shared with us over the years. Here’s hoping he won’t stay away for long.
Dorothy Chandler Pavillion March 25-April 15 www.laopera.com
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