Saverio Mercadante I due Figaro
o sia Il soggetto di una commedia
Melodramma buffo in two acts (1826)
New production
In Italian with German and English surtitles
Coproduction with Ravenna Festival and the Teatro Real, Madrid
Critical edition by Paolo Cascio and Víctor Sánchez Sánchez, 2011
Performing rights: Ut Orpheus Edizioni
End of opera approx. 22.45.
DATE
- 10 June 2011, 19:30
- 12 June 2011, 19:30
Print programme (PDF)
Riccardo Muti, Conductor
Emilio Sagi, Stage director
Daniel Bianco, Stage design
Jesús Ruiz, Costume design
Eduardo Bravo, Lighting
Nuria Castejón, Choreography
Walter Zeh, Chorus master
Antonio Poli, Il Conte d'Almaviva
Asude Karayavuz, La Contessa (Rosina)
Rosa Feola, Inez, her daughter
Annalisa Stroppa, Cherubino, under the name of Figaro
Mario Cassi, Figaro, the Count's servant
Eleonora Buratto, Susanna, Figaro's wife and the Countess's maid
Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, Torribio, under the name of Don Alvaro
Omar Montanari, Plagio, young writer of comedies
Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini
Philharmonia Chor Wien
Saverio Mercadante, alongside Bellini the most significant representative of the Scuola napoletana in the 19th century, composed I due Figaro in 1826 for his debut in Madrid where he was music director of the royal opera houses until 1831. Due to censorship problems the first performance of the opera took place only in 1835. The libretto continues the story about Figaro and Count Almaviva: in the meantime Figaro has risen to become the actual lord of the palace and intends to arrange the marriage of the count’s daughter to one of his mates so as to share the rich dowry with him. Yet Figaro has not taken account of Cherubino, who has meanwhile matured into a real hero, and who appears in the palace in disguise under the name of Figaro…