Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro DVD (The Royal Opera)

David McVicar’s resonant production of Le nozze di Figaro is set in 1830s post-revolution France, where the inexorable unravelling of an old order has produced acute feelings of loss. In the relationship between Gerald Finley’s suave Count and Dorothea Röschmann’s passionately dignified Countess, which lies at the tragic heart of the opera, the sexy ease between a feisty Figaro (Erwin Schrott) and a sassy Susanna (Miah Persson) is starkly absent. The production is superbly complemented by the beauty of Paule Constable’s lighting and Tanya McCallin’s evocative sets. Antonio Pappano conducts (and accompanies the recitatives) with invigorating wit and emotional depth.

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Figaro: Erwin Schrott
Susanna: Miah Persson
Count Almaviva: Gerald Finley
Marcellina: Graciela Araya
Barbarina: Ana James
Cherubino: Rinat Shaham 

The Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Stage Director: David McVicar
Set and Costume Designer: Tanya McCallin
Lighting Designs: Paule Constable
Movement Director: Leah Hausman

Special Features: The Magic of Mozart: Interviews with Antonio Pappano, David McVicar and principal cast; Cast gallery; Illustrated synopsis

Picture: 16:9
Sound: DTS Surround 5.0 / LPCM Stereo
Format: NTSC
Region code: 0 Worldwide
Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT
Running Time: 184 mins
Recorded: 2006

"Here is a Figaro to put with the 1973 Glyndebourne production placed among the top five operatic DVDs. Figaro and Susanna are very much the centre here, and we like them not only because they sing and act well but because they are sympathetic in a modern way." Gramophone

"Musically the evening is remarkable. Röschmann is exceptional in giving voice to the Countess's despair. Finley is the most dangerous of Counts, Persson a sensual, feisty Susanna. Schrott, meanwhile, handsome of presence and gorgeous of tone, is a star in the making. Antonio Pappano's conducting is full of wit and emotional depth." The Guardian

"... the orchestral playing is wonderful: nippy, witty, languid in the right places, and totally engaged with the rhythm of the production. The trumpeters and horn players played sans valves, and their sunlit sound and pristine articulation of the flourishes in Non piu andrai were peerless." The Independent