Mozart's genius wins over our affection for his characters, servants Figaro and Susanna, who need the count's permission to get married. The count, however, has other ideas and wants to bed Susanna himself. The opera moves forward with subplots, disguises and secret letters until... It is a plain fact that an enormous number of opera-goers would proclaim 'The Marriage of Figaro' to be the most entertaining operatic comedy they had ever seen. Its shadowy themes of eroticism and desire add layers of subtext, and Mozart's inspiring music transforms every exchange and paints the darkest or most exalted emotions behind the comic merry-go-round.
