MUSIC BY

W. A. Mozart

LIBRETTO BY

Lorenzo Da Ponte

LOCATION

The Downstairs Theater, La MaMa, Creative Shares

66 East 4th Street, New York, NY

SUNG IN

Italian with English Supertitles

RUNNING TIME

2 hours and 25 minutes with a 20-minute break

ACCESSIBILITY

La MaMa and all Teatro Grattacielo productions are wheelchair accessible and disability-friendly. Please contact us in advance for any specific accommodation needs.

PRODUCTION SUPPORT GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation
The DuBose & Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund
Eric Bottcher, New York City Council Member, Third District

Le Nozze di Figaro is partially made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts
with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro has long fascinated me—not merely as a comedic masterpiece but as a daring precursor to societal upheaval. Napoleon Bonaparte aptly remarked that it was “the Revolution already put into action,” highlighting its role in challenging the status quo and foreshadowing the French Revolution.

In this production, shadows play a pivotal role, serving as metaphors for the unseen forces and suppressed desires that drive the characters. By manipulating light and shadow, we reveal the dualities within each persona—their public facades and private turmoils—creating a world that teeters between illusion and reality. To deepen this connection to Beaumarchais’ biting satire, I have embedded moments of the original play’s dialogue into the score, allowing the voices of the past to echo within Mozart’s music.

— Stefanos Koroneos, Director

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ACT I

On the day of their wedding, Figaro and Susanna—servants to Count Almaviva—prepare their new bedroom. Figaro soon learns that the Count, who once claimed to abolish feudal privileges, is secretly attempting to seduce Susanna. Alarmed, Figaro vows to outmaneuver him. Meanwhile, Cherubino, the Count’s teenage page, is dismissed after being caught in yet another romantic misadventure. As plans begin to form, the household becomes a web of secrets, flirtations, and early signs of revolt—echoing Beaumarchais’ critique of aristocratic entitlement.

ACT II
The Countess, deeply hurt by her husband’s infidelities, joins Susanna in a scheme to expose his hypocrisy. Cherubino is disguised in women’s clothes for a staged rendezvous meant to trap the Count. But the plan spirals into a comic frenzy of mistaken identities, slamming doors, and near-discovery. Though the opera maintains a lighter tone, the original play’s subversive undercurrent remains: those in service gain power not through status, but through cleverness and unity.
As suspicions mount, the Count tries to force Susanna into submission, unaware that she and the Countess are still playing him. Figaro is unexpectedly revealed to be the long-lost child of Marcellina and Bartolo, shifting the dynamics from scandal to reconciliation. The women’s plan culminates in a secret nighttime meeting, during which identities will be switched. While Da Ponte streamlines the story, Beaumarchais’ core remains: a servant’s wedding becomes an act of resistance within a crumbling hierarchy.
In the garden at night, deception reigns. Susanna—disguised as the Countess—meets the Count, while the real Countess, in Susanna’s dress, observes the seduction unfold. Figaro believes he’s been betrayed and prepares to confront Susanna, only to realize the truth. At last, the farce unravels: the Count is exposed and must ask his wife for forgiveness. She grants it. Beaumarchais’ revolutionary spirit lingers in the final tableau—where love wins, but only after power is humbled.

ACT III

As suspicions mount, the Count tries to force Susanna into submission, unaware that she and the Countess are still playing him. Figaro is unexpectedly revealed to be the long-lost child of Marcellina and Bartolo, shifting the dynamics from scandal to reconciliation. The women’s plan culminates in a secret nighttime meeting, during which identities will be switched. While Da Ponte streamlines the story, Beaumarchais’ core remains: a servant’s wedding becomes an act of resistance within a crumbling hierarchy.

ACT IV

In the garden at night, deception reigns. Susanna—disguised as the Countess—meets the Count, while the real Countess, in Susanna’s dress, observes the seduction unfold. Figaro believes he’s been betrayed and prepares to confront Susanna, only to realize the truth. At last, the farce unravels: the Count is exposed and must ask his wife for forgiveness. She grants it. Beaumarchais’ revolutionary spirit lingers in the final tableau—where love wins, but only after power is humbled.

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