Review: Mozart’s opera buffa Le Nozze di Figaro is a multi-layered masterpiece

A&E reviewer Sarah Bobson of The Independent said of “Figaro”…
Mozart’s opera buffa Le Nozze di Figaro is a multi-layered masterpiece. The da Ponte libretto based on the Beaumarchais play pokes fun at many of the same bumbling, clueless characters seen in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia who struggle through one intrigue after the other only to find in the end that love conquers all.

The orchestra, with Maestro Alexander Katsmandoubling as conductor and playing the keyboard, robustly attacked the overture, producing mostly a full-bodied sound.

Kristen Choi

The chorus as villagers, peasants, servants, and wedding guests were in fine voice, as were the principals and supporting cast.

The evening has to go to mezzo-soprano Kristin Choias Cherubino. She simply steals the show with her charming antics, whether she’s hiding from the Count, or attempting to learn how to march in military fashion, or singing two of the better-known arias in the opera, “Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio” (Act I) and “Voi, che sapete” (Act II).