The Marriage of Figaro

Producing a major Mozart opera is at the very least a grandiose gesture. The production at Leverett House is more: it is lively, intelligent, and remarkably polished.

Tom Weber made a mirthful if somewhat incongruous Figaro. His ensemble singing was superb, but in the arias his voice often sounded a little cloudy. Only in the last, "Aprite un po'quegli occhi," did his singing become brilliant and colorful. Nancy Boyd as Susanna was the heroine of the production. Her voice was warm but clear, her phrasing and style impeccable.

Cherubino's role-a woman must impersonate a boy-is extraordinarily tricky. Peggy Everitt's slight but colorful voice was perfect for the part, and her saucy portrayal of the page clicked.

Master Richard Gill, who plays the Count, would be well worth hearing by himself. His voice is as majestic as his bearing; he is at once dramatic and agile. If his tone quality were only a little more variable, if he could sound sweet and smooth when necessary, he would be unassailable.

Jean Marshall's Countess was less successful. Her voice never blended with the other, and "Dove sono i beimomento," which must be the loveliest aria in the opera, came out nervous and constricted. She might have been singing in Martian for all the words I could make out.

Lucy Shelton's Marcellina was capable and appropriately maternal. Richard Firmin, playing both Basilio and Curzio, melted smoothly into the ensembles (his aria was wisely omitted, as was Marcellina's). David Cornell's Bartolo was strong but a little clumsy and headstrong. Angus Duncan as Antonio was marvellously and bitterly ironic. He also had one of the most brilliant lines of the translation: describing Cherubino's leap from a window, he testifies, "I'm sure that he wasn't on horseback, for no horse from the window came down." But of all the minor roles, Juliet Cunningham's Barbarina was best. Her fourth act cavatina ("I'ho perduta, me meschina") had just the right touch of girlish dolefulness.

John Adams coordinated the ensembles perfectly. The duets between Figaro and Susanna were all well balanced and blended; Susanna and Cherubino's "Aprite, preste aprito," one of the most bubbly spots in the score, came off with the proper mixture of fright and humor.

Adams' orchestra knew the first two acts well. There were rough spots, however, in the more difficult passages of the third and fourth acts. The intonation, superb in the first half, occasionally sagged, and the orchestra became less flexible and precise.

The chorus, fortunately, appeared only twice; or rather, they fortunately sang only twice. Their sickly tone, occasionally faulty intonation, and insipid enunciation made their numbers the low points of the performance. Their colorful costumes (many in extravagant stripes) and well planned movements made it a pleasure to watch them, however; the stage became an enormous, dazzling kaleidoscope when they entered.

The set, an ingenious double set of porticos, was attractive. More important, it was flexible enough to portray three different scenes by switching only a few paintings and the simple but effective lighting. The set's only failing was that it seemed a little flimsy; occasionally the backdrop started oscillating ominously and one feared that it had been put together with Scotch tape.

John Lithgow's staging was restrained (for Lithgow) and stylized. His blocking moved well, and the choreography had moments of brilliance without upstaging the music. The panic preceding Cherubino's leap from the window, the third act choral dance, and the intricate comings and goings of the last scene were the best.

The translation used for the Leverett production contains many brilliant strokes and the usual quota of ridiculous lines. The singers took great pains to make the words clear, but many were inevitably lost in the ferocious pace. Given their care, it was worthwhile to do the opera in English; many as of the scenes, and above all the finale of the fourth act, were excruciatingly funny. Dramatically as well as musically, this is a memorable Marriage of Figaro.