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The Marriage of Figaro

17/05/2010

The Marriage of Figaro, May/June 2010

PUBLICATION: The Dominion Post
REVIEWED BY: John Button
WHERE: St James Theatre, Opening night

Having missed the last Marriage of Figaro done by New Zealand Opera in 2002 - and the outside performance during the summer in Eastbourne - it is a while since I have experienced a local production of the opera, but I still suspect that this thought-provoking, and stunningly realised production directed by New Zealand Opera's general director, Aidan Lang, is a benchmark for Mozart opera in New Zealand.

And it is, primarily, the production, and the extraordinary sets by Robin Rawstorne, that sets this production apart.

These startling sets completely change the perception of the drama, highlighting the farcical elements in a more realistic way; reducing suspension of disbelief, as the set manages to run the rooms together, sometimes offering an almost filmic split- screen, then linking the rooms with a door.

The feel is authentic spartan, and although the use of round or oval windows might not be authentic, it feels so. The constant shifting of the set without interruption allows the drama to flow.

Only the final scene in the garden presents a problem where, suddenly, the set abandons realism to something more abstracted, and the various comings and goings are difficult to reconcile with the startling insights the set offers earlier.

It is, though, breathtakingly brilliant and lateral in its thinking, and it succeeds even further with a cast that is extraordinarily accomplished both vocally and dramatically, to the point where it is almost invidious to single out any one performer over another.

Wade Kernot as Figaro, Emma Pearson as Susanna, Riccardo Novaro as Almaviva, Nuccia Focile as his Countess, Wendy Dawn Thompson as Cherubino are so stunning as to defy criticism, to the point where musical matters look after themselves, and the famous arias fit seamlessly into the action. Supporting them, Gennadi Dubinsky, Richard Greager, Helen Medlyn, Richard Green, Derek Hill and Alexandra Ioan are just as accomplished, and the chorus does what little it has to do superbly.

The costumes of Elizabeth Whiting and the lighting of David Eversfield are so good you never notice - apart from a couple of pieces of lighting that frame a moment like a Rembrandt painting.

Supporting everything is the stylish conducting of Lionel Friend and, for opening night, some very, very assured orchestral playing.

I would have thought it impossible for anything to match the recent productions of Jenufa and Eugene Onegin, but this new Marriage somehow manages to do just that.

Don't miss this.