The Marriage of Figaro by Holland

Figaro!

I had seen 'The Barber of Seville', but never the sequel. Now I know just what I was missing.

The marriage of Figaro picks up where 'Barber' left off, but surpasses the original in several ways. While I was familiar with the music, there is a difference between listening to a soundtrack CD at home while washing the dishes and actually seeing the opera in real life.

The role I thought was the best cast was the role of Doctor Bartolo. He had the most vivid facial expressions of all the cast, and he was very funny. I was also impressed with his ability to project. It's quite hard to project the very low notes, but he did it extremely well.

Mozart's use of puns and innuendo are characteristic of the times, but also of his own personal flair for the dramatic. Comedic operas were just starting out at the time, and he was the one who popularized them, setting the stage for later composers.

In conclusion, 'The Marriage of Figaro' was a wonderful play, and I'm very glad I got to see it.