PLOT

Act 1

Figaro, the clever barber of Seville, has become a personal valet to the Count Almaviva, having helped him a few years back to woo his wife – Rosina. Now Figaro finds himself in love as well – he intends to marry the Countess’s maid, Susanna. The young couple enjoy their happiness, while admiring the room given to them by the generous Count. Only when Susanna implies that the Count has recently made advances to her does her quick-witted fiancé put all the pieces together – both the ‘private’ room and Figaro’s new promotion to courier, which will involve frequent traveling, are means devised to bring the Count closer to Susanna. Furious with his rival, Figaro decides to make a fool of him: the master is nothing without his valet, he shall dance to the music that Figaro plays. Meanwhile, the upcoming wedding begins to be delayed – now that Marcellina, the former housekeeper of Dr. Bartolo, has appeared with an IOU rashly signed one day by Figaro. According to the document, the valet has to either immediately p y back the sum borrowed from Marcellina, or marry his creditor, as he promised in writing. Marcellina can already see herself as Figaro’s bride and uses all given opportunities to torment Susanna, who herself taunts Marcellina. Shortly afterwards Susanna is visited by the over-sexed page – Cherubino, who has come to her seeking help. Having angered the Count, the youth was ordered to leave the palace, yet he remains certain that if the Countess agreed to intercede on his behalf, her husband would surely pardon him. The situation is unexpectedly complicated by the Count’s arrival, who, believing Susanna to be alone, begins to seduce her. The page manages to hide behind the armchair, but the Count’s flirtations are interrupted by the visit of the music master, Don Basilio. This time the Count himself disappears behind the armchair, trying to avoid being caught alone with the maid by the renowned gossip, Basilio. However, soon afterwards he leaves his hiding place, enraged by Basilio’s mocking words concerning Cherubino’s infatuation with the Countess. The Count himself might not stay truthful to his wife, he is nevertheless insanely jealous, and decides to immediately chase away the amorous page from his palace. His wrath is fueled even further when he discovers Cherubino witnessed his advances to Susanna. The row is interrupted for a moment by the arrival of Figaro and some other servants. They are here to thank the Count for having abolished the humiliating ius primae noctis (right of the first night) in his domain. The Count is obviously not looking forward to the imminent union of Susanna and Figaro and decides to postpone the wedding. In order to finally get rid of Cherubino, the Count appoints him officer and immediately dispatches him to the regiment stationed in Seville.

Act 2

The Countess muses upon her husbands’ love that burnt out so soon, dreaming of becoming the centre of his affection once more. Susanna, trying to defend herself from the Count’s importune advances, persuades her mistress to take part in a cleverly devised plot. Figaro has already planted an anonymous letter on the Count, according to which the Countess is to meet her suitor for a tryst that very night. Susanna is then to pretend that she finally agrees to fulfill the Count’s demands, but instead of her, they will send out Cherubino dressed up as a girl for the rendezvous. The couple shall then be confronted by the Countess, who will embarrass her unfaithful husband and win his love back, leaving Figaro free to marry Susanna. The Countess agrees to the plan and along with Susanna they begin to dress Cherubino up. The page uses this occasion to reveal his affection towards the Countess. Suddenly, the Count can be heard near the door – enraged by the anonymous letter and seized by jealousy, he demands an instant explanation from his spouse. He storms into her chamber, leaving Cherubino just enough time to hide in an adjoining dressing room. Sounds coming from this anti-chamber make him certain that the Countess has hidden there the mysterious lover that is implied by the letter. When his wife refuses to open the door to her dressing room, the Count takes her with him to fetch his tools and force the door open. Cherubino decides to jump out of the window, in order not to get caught, while Susanna takes his place in the dressing room. Shortly afterwards the Count comes back, along with the terrified Countess, who is ready to plead with her husband, appealing to his reason and self-control. However, when the triumphant Susanna leaves the dressing room instead of the supposed lover, both the spouses seem beyond themselves with surprise. The Countess uses the situation to embarrass her jealous husband, who is now convinced of her innocence. The scene is interrupted by the inopportune arrival of the gardener Antonio, who informs the Count that a certain individual, having jumped out of the Countess’s windows, trampled his flower beds. Figaro storms in and is forced to take the blame himself, as his master’s suspicion is aroused further. Everything seems to be well again, until Marcellina appears on the scene, demanding from Figaro the return of her money or a prompt wedding. The Count, delighted with where the things are headed, decides to put her case to the test.

Act 3

The Countess decides to take matters into her own hands. She asks Susanna to arrange a secret meeting with the Count, but instead of the maid, the Countess intends to go disguised as Susanna – when she reveals her true identity, her husband will be even more ashamed of his actions. The Count welcomes Susanna’s sudden obedience with great pleasure and promises to reward her handsomely. Soon afterwards Susanna meets Figaro and tells him that their case is already won, but the Count overhears it and knows now that the maid played a trick on him. He decides to prevent her wedding with Figaro. Meanwhile the lawsuit, as judged by Don Curzio and as one might suspect, does not go according to Figaro’s plans. He would probably be forced to marry Marcellina in the end, however she recognizes him as her long lost son. Dr. Bartolo turns out to be his father, who faced with such an unexpected turn of events decides to marry his former housekeeper. Both the parents embrace their miraculously found son, when Susanna storms in, bringing the money she received from the Countess, so that she could pay off Figaro’s debt. Seeing her fiancé in Marcellina’s arms, Susanna misunderstands the situation and slaps him. However, the situation is promptly explained and soon enough the young couple and newly found parents enjoy their happiness; only the Count remains furious. Susanna and the Countess continue to weave their tangled web of intrigue. The mistress dictates a love letter to her maid, addressed to the Count, and asking him to come to the garden bower at nightfall. They seal the card with an ornamental pin, which the Count is instructed to return once he has read the message. Meanwhile local peasant girls arrive at the scene to form Susanna’s wedding procession, and along with them appears the lovely Barbarina and Cherubino, disguised as a peasant girl, as previously planned. Antonio recognizes the page, and the events would take a very sorry turn indeed, if it was not for the clever Barbarina. She reminds the Count of how he prom sed her many times, while kissing her tenderly, that he would grant her every wish. She asks then to be given Cherubino as her husband. The wedding procession sets off – the Count and the Countess bless both couples: Susanna and Figaro, Marcellina and Bartolo. Amidst all the dancing, Figaro notices that the Count pricks his finger with a pin while reading a letter in private, received just a few moments ago. Figaro does not suspect at the time that the letter was sent by Susanna, as he is not privy to the intrigue.

Act 4

Barbarina is looking for the pin she has just lost. Figaro and Marcellina meet the embarrassed girl, who tells them that the Count ordered her to give the pin back to Susanna as a ‘seal to the garden bower’. Figaro despairs – his newly marriedwife clearly intends to betray him on the day of their wedding! He decides to take every measure to prevent the tryst. He hides in the garden, where soon enough strange things begin to transpire – a real extravaganza of errors and mistaken identity. The page, looking furtively for his Barbarina, chances upon the Countess dressed up as Susanna, and, having not recognized her, tries to charm her with his flirtatious ways. However, he is forced to run away as the Count approaches, who also does not recognize the Countess in her maid’s apparel and starts whispering tender words into her ears. The couple get disturbed by the sound of others approaching. Figaro, shattered by the supposed faithlessness of Susanna, initially mistakes his young bride, dressed up as her mistress, for the Countess, and only finds out his error when he recognizes her voice, but continues the wooing of ‘the Countess’ for a while, to have a joke at Susanna’s cost. Only now does he get to know about the plot aimed against the Count. He decides to take part in it, and humiliate the Count even further – just as he sees him approaching along a nearby garden path, he falls to Susanna’s knees, who at the time is still dressed as her mistress, and confesses his long-suppressed, passionate love for her. The Count, indi nant at his valet’s behaviour, rounds up the wedding guests – he wants to publicly dishonour his wife and his servant. Meanwhile, the real Countess appears from amongst the shadows, still in Susanna’s apparel, and the Count, ridiculed once more, is forced, yet again, to beg his wife’s forgiveness. The Countess grants him her pardon magnanimously, and the ‘day of madness’ ends in an atmosphere of mutual reconciliation and hope.