History Theatre / TheMarriageOfFigaro

A comic, SitCom-like play by Pierre Beaumarchais, adapted to {{opera}} by WolfgangAmadeusMozart. The story is about the attempts of Figaro (Count Almaviva's manservant and formerly TheBarberOfSeville) and Susanna (the Countess's maid) to get married. It being a RomanticComedy, there are many obstacles:

* BeamMeUpScotty: The "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro" line is not from The Marriage of Figaro. It is from The Barber of Seville.

* DawsonCasting: Almost inevitable with Cherubino- he's allegedly 13-ish but usually played by actresses of at least early 20s and often older.
** Occasionally averted with Barbarina (or not, her age is subject to interpretation)

Or ''Le nozze de Figaro'', in the original Italian.

The opera is based on a play by Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais, a sequel to his ''TheBarberOfSeville'', which tells how Figaro entered the Count's employ after helping overcome the difficulties surrounding the Count's own marriage. ''TheBarberOfSeville'' was also adapted into opera several times, most notably 30 years ''after'' ''The Marriage of Figaro'', by a different composer (Rossini) and a different lyricist. Essentially it is a ContinuationFic in the other chronological direction. As mentioned on the ''Barber'' page, there is a third play in the series, but nobody cares about it anymore. Finally, ''Figaro'' was unusual for being essentially a LowerDeckEpisode: the OfficialCouple aren't nobility or anywhere near the top of the power structure. (Of course, this makes up for the fact that Figaro wasn't the main character of ''Barber'', even though it's ''named'' after him.) See the "{{Deconstruction}}" entry below for more information.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Toward traditional CommediaDellArte, especially in the original play. The Count, the young-lover character in ''Barber'', has become an adulterer only months after getting married. The PluckyComicRelief servants, normally sidekicks to the aristocratic characters and sometimes a BetaCouple, are the lead roles in this show. The lower-class antagonists of the previous play, Dr. Bartolo and Marcellina, look practically saintly compared to the Count. Finally, Beaumarchais wrote a short summary at the beginning of the play describing the characters' personalities, and when discussing Susanna, he attacks the idea of the clever female servant [[AllWomenAreLustful always being sexually promiscuous]]... and the related idea that, of course, this makes it okay for their employers to take advantage of them.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Rosina has gone a long way since ''The Barber of Seville''. She's gentler and more mellow, but it's mostly because of being afraid of her husband's violent jealousy. Her younger naive but crafty self is there and sometimes pops up, specially in the LoveLetterLunacy subplot.

A comic, SitCom-like play by Pierre Beaumarchais, and later adapted to {{opera}} by WolfgangAmadeusMozart. The story is about the attempts of Figaro (Count Almaviva's manservant and formerly TheBarberOfSeville) and Susanna (the Countess's maid) to get married. It being a RomanticComedy, there are many obstacles:

A comic, SitCom-like {{opera}} by WolfgangAmadeusMozart. The story is about the attempts of Figaro (Count Almaviva's manservant and formerly TheBarberOfSeville) and Susanna (the Countess's maid) to get married. It being a RomanticComedy, there are many obstacles:

* KidAnova: Cherubino. This, in addition to territoriality, is probably why the Count, no slouch in the {{Casanova}} department himself, is jealous of him.

* Count Almaviva wants to seduce Susanna, much to the dismay of his wife, Countess Rosina. To achieve this, he is threatening to reinstate the feudal "DroitDeSeigneur" custom, which gives the local lord first dibs with a woman on her wedding night. Rosina and Susanna, who are close friends, conspire to expose his lechery.

* Count Almaviva wants to seduce Susanna, much to the dismay of his wife, Countess Rosina. To achieve this, he is threatening to reinstate a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_de_seigneur feudal custom]] which [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty gives the local lord first dibs with a woman on her wedding night]]. Rosina and Susanna, who are close friends, conspire to expose his lechery.

* HeelFaceTurn: Almaviva was a RomanticHero who was passionately in love with Rosina in ''TheBarberOfSeville''; in ''Marriage of Figaro'' he's the villain. No explanation is given for his new {{Jerkass}} persona.

* GoodLookingPrivates: Cherubino would appreciate if you'd stop referring to him as "handsome captain". He hates his new military rank.

* DawsonsCasting Almost inevitable with Cherubino- he's allegedly 13-ish but usually played by actresses of at least early 20s and often older.

* FaceHeelTurn: In ''TheBarberOfSeville'' Almaviva is portrayed as a RomanticHero who's passionately in love with Rosina. No explanation is given for his new {{Jerkass}} persona.

* HeelFaceTurn: The count was the romantic lead in ''TheBarberOfSeville''; in ''Marriage of Figaro'' he's the villain.

*** No, in ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'' she gets eaten by a [[strike:grue]] BottomlessPit.

* UnexplainedRecovery: Figaro pretends to have sprained his ankle from jumping out the window (when in fact it was Cherubino who had jumped). Later that day, he begins to dance. When the Count comments on his ankle, Figaro simply says "It got better!"

* BedTrick: The Countess goes to an assignation with the Count in Susanna's clothing. It doesn't play out, though--Susanna is also wearing the Countess's clothing. Figaro, recognizing his wife, starts kissing her. The Count, seeing only the clothes, gets mad.

* CrosscastRole: Cherubino is played by a mezzo-soprano.

* IGotBetter: Figaro pretends to have sprained his ankle from jumping out the window (when in fact it was Cherubino who had jumped). Later that day, he begins to dance. When the Count comments on his ankle, Figaro simply says "It got better!"

* {{Keet}}: Cheubino.

** His biggest (and longest-lasting) crush is on the Countess, but he considers her "too high above him" to do more than gaze at her longingly during dinners. FirstGirlWins in more ways than one - he marries Barbarina (the first girl he mentions), who he was caught with in her room, but in the third play, he has a child with the Countess (his first crush), who gave in at some point. Since he went off to get himself killed in a war after she told him that they can never be together again, one can safely assume that he didn't handle being a rejected LadykillerInLove too well...
* LoveDodecahedron: Right. Here we go. Figaro and Susanna are happy together and about to be married. The Count and the Countess are already married, but aren't happy. The Countess still loves the Count, but he'd rather be off reinstating the droit de seigneur with Susanna (and it's implied he's taken full advantage of this same right in the past with other women). Marcellina has a weird crush on Figaro up until she learns he's [[spoiler: her son]], and she used to have a thing going on with Bartolo, [[spoiler: which is then reignited when they find out they have a child]]. Cherubino is a heterosexual male in the middle of puberty and so by definition wants to sleep with every female he sees, but especially Susanna, Barbarina and the Countess. Barbarina reciprocates and the Countess may or may not also reciprocate. Bartolo still doesn't seem to have quite got over his crush on the Countess from the first play. Oh, and Barbarina also seems to have once had a thing going on with the Count, but now she only loves him "like a kitten", as opposed to her more erotic love for Cherubino. And... the Count seems to have rediscovered his feelings for his wife by the end. [[InfoDump Got all that?]]

* Count Almaviva wants to seduce Susanna, much to the dismay of his wife, Countess Rosina. To achieve this, he is threatening to reinstate a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_de_seigneur feudal custom]] which [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty gives the local lord first dibs with a woman on her wedding night]].

* Cherubino, a teenaged page boy, is also trying to get his hands on Susanna, his godmother the Countess, the gardener's daughter Barbarina, and basically any other female within a 500-yard radius. Ah, young hormones. Suzanna and Rosina try to weaponize him. This is mostly PlayedForLaughs, but the Count is dangerously territorial, so it can go MoodWhiplash at times.

The opera is based on a play by Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais, a sequel to his ''TheBarberOfSeville'', which tells how Figaro entered the Count's employ after helping overcome the difficulties surrounding the Count's own marriage. ''Barber'' was also adapted into opera several times, most notably 30 years ''after'' ''The Marriage of Figaro'', by a different composer (Rossini) and a different lyricist. Essentially it is a ContinuationFic in the other chronological direction. As mentioned on the ''Barber'' page, there is a third play in the series, but nobody cares about it anymore. Finally, ''Figaro'' was unusual for being essentially a LowerDeckEpisode: the OfficialCouple aren't nobility or anywhere near the top of the power structure. (Of course, this makes up for the fact that Figaro wasn't the main character of ''Barber'', even though it's ''named'' after him.) See the "{{Deconstruction}}" entry below for more information.

* Cherubino, a teenaged page boy, is also trying to get his hands on Susanna, his godmother the Countess, the gardener's daughter Barbarina, and basically any other female within a 500-yard radius. Ahh, young hormones. This is mostly PlayedForLaughs, but the Count is dangerously territorial, so it can go MoodWhiplash at times.

This comic {{opera}} by WolfgangAmadeusMozart is about the attempts of Figaro (Count Almaviva's manservant and formerly TheBarberOfSeville) and Susanna (the Countess's maid) to get married. It being a RomanticComedy, there are many obstacles:

* Count Almaviva, who wants to seduce Susanna, much to the dismay of his wife, Countess Rosina. To achieve this, he is threatening to reinstate a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_de_seigneur feudal custom]] which [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty gives the local lord first dibs with a woman on her wedding night]].
* Figaro is in debt to a middle-aged woman named Marcellina; she's trying to force him to marry her in lieu of payment. She has the aid of her former employer Dr. Bartolo, who had been competing for Rosina's hand himself back in the day (and got her dowry as a consolation prize), and the gossip-mongering music teacher Don Basilio.
* Cherubino, a teenage page boy, is also trying to get his hands on Susanna, his godmother the Countess, the gardener's daughter Barbarina, and basically any other female within a 500-yard radius. Ahh, young hormones. This is mostly PlayedForLaughs, but the Count is dangerously territorial, so it can go MoodWhiplash at times.