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Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (DVD)
Royal Opera House, 2006
"Top dog here is Gerald Finley, whose Count oozes suave, sadistic sexuality, as well as an aura of ominous, imposing power; the role could hardly be sung better either..." MusicOMH
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Performers:
· Il Conte di Almaviva: Gerald Finley
· Susanna: Miah Persson
· The Countess: Dorothea Röschmann
· Figaro: Erwin Schrott
· Bartolo: Jonathan Veira
· Marcellina: Graciela Araya
· Cherubino: Rinat Shaham
· Don Basilio: Philip Langridge
· Antonio: Jeremy White
· Don Curzio: Francis Egerton
· Barbarina: Ana James
· First Bridesmaid: Glenys Groves
· Second Bridesmaid: Kate McCarney
· Choir and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Director: David Mcvicar
Recorded: Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 10, 13 and 17 February 2006. Click here for more details of the production
Release date: 3 March 2008
Label: Opus Arte (ROH)
No of discs: 2
Run Time: 184 minutes
ASIN: B0013HA838
From musicalcriticism.com, 22 January 2008
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/dvd-roh-figaro-0108.shtml
Following on from the news in May 2007 that the Royal Opera House had purchased the record label Opus Arte, the company has announced that the first opera DVD filmed at the House to be released on the label will be David McVicar's highly-acclaimed production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro on 1 March 2008…
…One of the company's greatest hits in recent years, McVicar's Figaro is updated slightly to around 1830 and is set in a stunning palladian villa. The cast includes Erwin Schrott as Figaro, Miah Persson as Susanna, Gerald Finley as Count Almaviva and Dorothea Röschmann as Countess Almaviva. Former Royal Opera Young Artist Ana James' memorable performance as Barbarina is captured on the film, as is Rinat Shaham's Cherubino.
The DVD was recorded live at the Royal Opera House on 10, 13 and 17 Feburary 2006 during the production's original run, when it was timed to coincide with the Mozart at 250 celebrations. Antonio Pappano conducted the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and also played the continuo part, allowing for an unusually fluid move from the recitatives to the full numbers.
The 2-DVD set features interviews with Pappano, McVicar and the principal members of the cast, as well as a 'cast gallery' and synopsis. It has a running time of 184 minutes and has both DTS surround sound and LPCM stereo.
… it's good news that the Figaro is finally to be available, especially with Finley's extraordinary performance as the Count, and one can only hope that it's the start of more things to come.
What the critics say
Dave Paxton, musicOMH.com, March 2008
http://www.musicomh.com/classical/recordings/dvd-nozze_0308.htm
Rating: 
I watched David McVicar's production of The Marriage of Figaro on its first night at the Royal Opera House in 2006, and found it breathtaking, as I find it once again on this DVD.
McVicar's production probes deep into Mozart's masterpiece, correctly identifying the work's vital themes and bringing them out with crystal clarity and a good deal of wit. The opera is updated to 1830s post-revolution France; the chateau that holds the action is grand and clean-cut, but showing signs of neglect; the conflict between servants and masters is precisely elucidated in the characterful and accommodating setting. Sex is abundant, McVicar interlacing Mozart's tightly constructed web of relationships and intrigue with subtle, implicitly stated threads of sexuality. The action never seems overtly busy, but the chateau bustles with activity. It's exhilarating to watch, and the neatly choreographed buzz of stage movement provides both a blueprint and an oil painting of a society in gradual decline, its peoples happy to ride the wave down, enjoying themselves as they go, though ostensibly still existing under the rule of autocracy.
In Act IV, Mozart transports his action outdoors, from the constructed to the natural, in order that reconciliation between factors - men and women, masters and servants - can occur unrestricted, in all-seeing, all-forgiving nature. McVicar is ambiguous in his treatment of this last, vital act, trees and falling leaves present, but also furniture from the house: a writing desk, chairs knocked over. The result is messy and visually chaotic, suggesting both the in and the out, but very possibly this was the director's intention. Now, it is not so much that the characters must leave the old, failing order, by stepping from it, but that the order must be reduced to chaos - destroyed, laid bare to the elements - for forward progress to occur. If this is the director's intention, I rather wish that the effect had been achieved in an aesthetically neater manner. The sharp contrast between the handsome bare sets of the first three acts and Act IV's dark, object-strewn mess may make sense thematically, but visually, the result can be bathetic.
It is to the great credit of the vocal soloists, though, that tension is always maintained and that the pace stays bracing (an admirable feat, given that Act IV's 'cut' arias are reinserted). Top dog here is Gerald Finley, whose Count oozes suave, sadistic sexuality, as well as an aura of ominous, imposing power; the role could hardly be sung better either, Finley becoming tired near the opera's conclusion, but throughout producing a ringing, powerful and beautifully moulded sound. His Countess, Dorothea Röschmann, provides intense, focused vocal delivery, despite some occasional struggles in coloratura. Visually, the artist can look momentarily out of her depth, but she acts her heart out, easily winning one's sympathy and respect.
Rinat Shaham is an ebullient Cherubino; Philip Langridge is not in great voice, but his creepy Basilio provides endless humour and menace. Our Figaro and Susanna are Erwin Schrott and Miah Persson. Schrott delights in the character of Figaro, and is in rich, expressive voice throughout, even if one yearns, at times, for slightly more discipline in his singing. Persson, meanwhile, is not the most petite or characterful of Susannas, but her ravishing physical beauty, gloriously pure vocal delivery and feisty characterisation are to be reckoned with. The entire cast interacts brilliantly: there is, indeed, not one weak link, the evenly spread, dramatically convincing singing and acting vigorously illuminating this society's complex power struggles. Down below, Antonio Pappano conducts a light, bright and sparkling interpretation of Mozart's transcendental score.
Dominic McHugh, Musicalcriticism.com, 11 March 2008
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/dvd-figaro-0308.shtml
Rating:
Capturing one of my favourite opera productions of recent years, this new DVD of David McVicar's take on the first of the Mozart-Da Ponte operas is in some ways the ultimate Le nozze di Figaro.
Two or three of the singers involved aren't to my taste, but otherwise this performance seems to get to the heart of arguably Mozart's greatest opera more successfully than almost any other production of the composer's stage works I've seen in the last two or three years. As day turns to night and the characters leave the house to resolve their disputes in Tanya McCallin's verdant garden set, the performance takes on a warm glow; it's just so emotional, so involving, so poignant.
And I just can't remember thinking that an opera production was quite this beautiful before or since this one. For once, the Almavivas' villa is actually as grand as their social status requires: the walls, the veranda, the furniture is all redolent of a perhaps slightly faded grandeur suitable to the aristocracy. McVicar sets the piece in a French chateau in 1830, which may upset those who see it as being essentially rooted in the pre-French Revolution period. Yet for me, the director rightly focuses on the fact that above all else, this opera is about sex, and particularly an emerging sexual freedom amongst the serving classes. One of a million reasons why this production comes across so well on DVD is that you can see how good the chemistry is between the principles. The young, intense passion of Figaro and Susanna; the lust of the Count for Susanna; the immature love of Cherubino and Barbarina; the rekindling warmth between Marcellina and Bartolo; the suggested connection between Cherubino and the Countess, which will be consummated in the final Beaumarchais Figaro play; and, providing the touching apotheosis to this web of ardour, the very adult passion between the Count and Countess. All of this is shown in very physical terms: the singers get their hands on each other and kiss, fondle, grope, and seduce their way through what is, at its heart, only a domestic drama, albeit a very human one, rather than a political satire.
The domesticity, too, is well portrayed. During the overture, servants crowd the stage and complete their various tasks; they listen in at keyholes and observe all the happenings of the household in rather an Upstairs, Downstairs kind of way. The all important Susanna-Countess and Figaro-Count relationships are noticeably closer than the gentry's relations with the other servants, showing their interdependency. Everyone has his or her place, but as McVicar observes by updating the action, these social strata are beginning to blur because of the times. All of this could become rather austere, but the other wonderful thing about the production is that while cast in an elegiac, autumnal light (the stage is exquisitely lit by Paule Constable), it also plays the slapstick moments as amusingly as you could hope. In particular, the set for Act II is so lavish that the comings and goings can be staged with a genuine sense of breathlessness rather than contrived clowning around.
Musical standards, too, are very high. The glory of the experience is provided by Antonio Pappano's conducting of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House on tip-top form. I've had my reservations about various of Pappano's endeavours at Covent Garden but this Figaro was one of the three most convincing performances I've seen him give there. With the exception of an over-fast Wedding Chorus and finale, the tempos are immaculate. I particularly admire how Pappano adapts to this music without becoming religious about period performance practice. Occasionally the strings moderate the amount of vibrato they use for a specific effect, but on the whole Pappano goes for a full-blooded, fleet-of-foot approach that places expression at the top of the list of priorities. The pit floor is raised to enhance the acoustic, and it really does sound glorious; it also helps the performers that they are nearer to the orchestra and vice versa. Most wonderful of all, Pappano plays the continuo himself from the harpsichord, which allows for a riveting fluidity between the set pieces and the recitatives. One can really appreciate this as a through-composed drama rather than a series of disconnected numbers.
The cast is largely very attractive, with some exceptions. Gerald Finley and Miah Persson provide the central axis of energy, the former always asserting authority with his elegant tone as the Count and the latter zipping about and controlling the affairs of the household as a sublimely creamy-voiced Susanna. Erwin Schrott is less to my taste as Figaro and I find Rinat Shaham rather thin of tone as Cherubino compared to various fine competitors on record, but Dorothea Röschmann makes a touching, if occasionally over-histrionic Countess, providing the ultimate tear-jerking moment with her tender delivery of her line of forgiveness of the Count in the closing scene. Jonathan Veira and Graciela Araya are strong in the acting department as Bartolo and Marcellina, but the latter in particular doesn't have a big enough voice for the part. Former Young Artist Ana James is a sweet-voiced Barbarina and Philip Langridge is luxury casting as Don Basilio.
Shot in high definition and in surround sound, this is a luxury package and one that should be purchased and treasured by every opera lover.
Peter Grahame Woolf, Musicalpointers.co.uk http://www.musicalpointers.co.uk/reviews/cddvd08/figaro_roh_dvd.html
…On DVD (high quality filming with close close-ups which often belie its creation for a large opera house) there are problems; no moments of visual repose from the beginning of the overture and through all the arias. Eyes dominating ears, as is now the way.
All the characters are kept continually on the move with clever, witty little ideas imposed by the ever resourceful McVicar. In the last Act, in contrast with most productions, there was no sense of a garden as we know them, too much light so no mystery and confusion in the darkness as anticipated.
The third Act was, for me, the crown of the whole opera, unusually so. It was beautifully paced and integrated, with the Padre/Madre sextet managed unsurpassably. Is there a better & funnier composition in all music?
I was less taken with the prominence of the large contingent of servants and the convention that they could avoid hearing everything going on was hard to take; there was no privacy to express emotions and conflict; well, the ROH is a big place for tackling domestic problems...
Sarah Urwin Jones, the Times, 29 March 2008
Rating: Four out of five stars
David McVicar's compelling Covent Garden production from 2006 updates the Mozartian action, perhaps a little controversially, to an 1830s pre-revolutionary setting. The atmosphere is close and humid, as if waiting for the monsoon to break, the upstairs-downstairs boundary held only by a tenuous thread. Musically, things are fresh and vivid, with Antonio Pappano at times driving Mozart thrillingly ragged. Dorothea Röschmann's Countess is vocally heartbreaking, Miah Persson is a show-stopping Susanna, and Erwin Schrott a Figaro trapped in a web of deceit. But it is Gerald Finley's frustrated, bullish and at times truly terrifying Count that is the enduring highlight.
Janos Gardonyi, The Whole Note
http://thewholenote.com/wholenote/index.html
Whether Marriage of Figaro is Mozart’s best work for the stage is arguable, Don Giovanni being a close contender, yet this splendid new release makes a very good case for it. Although containing great comedy and a full range of human emotions plus much of the composer’s most heavenly music, it has been a difficult opera to bring off due to its inordinate length and countless long secco recitatives that obstruct the flow of musical progress. A lesser performance can easily become tedious.
David McVicar’s unique new vision at the work, his dynamic staging, action that is constantly moving, talented and attractive young cast makes it exciting to watch. And hear. The musical success of any opera always depends on the conductor and in this case Antonio Pappano, one of the best in the world today in opera, makes us sit up from the very first note of the overture. With generally fast tempos he reminds me of the great von Karajan. His great skill is manifest in the crucial 2nd act, where we go from duet to trio, quartet, quintet, sextet and octet in one gradual continuous buildup to the finale of total mayhem.
The cast is simply superlative. As Figaro, the new Uruguayan sensation Erwin Schrott’s voice is dark and mellifluous (it reminds me of Dmitri Hvorotovsky). As Susanna, young Swedish soprano Miah Persson is charming yet mischievous with a delightful, sweet voice. Of the two more established ‘senior’ singers Montreal-born Gerald Finley (Count) has a powerful, authoritative deep baritone with temperamental and firm characterization while international star German soprano, Dorothea Röschmann (Countess) delivers her two famous arias with true emotion and wonderful Mozartian style. A treasure. This is the Figaro to cherish.
John Terauds, The Toronto Star, 22 April 2008
http://www.thestar.com/article/417166
Rating Four out of four stars
You might wonder why the world needs another new DVD recording of Mozart's ever-popular opera buffa from 1786.
But it only takes a few minutes of this two-year-old British effort from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to cast doubts aside.
The famous Overture, and the rest of the sparkling score, sounds fabulous as Antonio Pappano leads the house orchestra. The curtain rises on a spacious, period-perfect set and costumes designed by Tanya McCallin. The cast is uniformly excellent, being excellent singers and looking age-appropriate. Director David McVicar keeps everything moving in brisk pace with the music, entertaining us without adding a single fussy distraction.
It's hard to imagine anything being done, or sung better.
Among the cast standouts are hunky Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott in the title role, fiery-yet-ingenuous Swedish soprano Miah Persson as Susanna and Canadian baritone Gerald Finley as a well-nuanced Count Almaviva.
The only extra of note is a flimsy 7-minute behind-the-scenes doc in which Pappano points out some of the tricks that made Mozart such a master opera composer.
Much more interesting are McVicar's background notes in the booklet that comes with this two-DVD set. He explains how Mozart (with the help of Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto) achieves a natural rhythm in the combination of words, music and action.
The director also makes the point that the various political messages that people have read into the servant-lord dynamic since the 1786 premiere are just a fussy overlay on one simple message: love is the greatest social leveller. Sit back and enjoy.
Roger Pines, Opera News, July 2008 , vol 73 , no.1
Most of the fifteen-odd Figaros in the DVD catalogue offer outstanding quality, so it says much for Covent Garden's 2006 production that it is as enjoyable as any in the work's videography. Stage director David McVicar persuasively places the work in 1830 in a French chateau with Tanya McCallin's fluid set design of a basic, architecturally imposing reception room.
McVicar creates believable relationships, not just among principals but with chorus and supernumeraries. The cast members are marvelous movers, with every physical characterization a joy, even in the most musically hair-raising moments. (Watch Marcellina and Susanna going at each other in the Act II finale.) Scenes that often seem awkward — the dressing up of Cherubino and Susanna's feigned seduction of the Count, for example — prove captivating here. Every comic episode retains its humanity, but when dead seriousness is needed (the Countess's arias, Figaro's sudden explosion at the Count late in Act III and the former's despair in his Act IV aria), this staging again hits the mark.
Few Figaro–Susanna pairings have offered sexual chemistry comparable to what one senses between Miah Persson's feisty Susanna and Erwin Schrott's smoldering Figaro. The soprano and bass-baritone, both seemingly born to the stage, offer exceptionally well-rounded characterizations. Their manner is so natural, their dramatic involvement so complete, that the viewer must stop periodically to remember that the vocal challenges, too, are being mastered brilliantly.
The aristocrats are similarly memorable. Dorothea Röschmann, a Met Susanna as recently as 2003, brings extraordinary tonal warmth to the Countess's music, singing an emotionally devastating "Porgi amor" and an achingly nostalgic yet hopeful "Dove sono." She also presents a formidable opponent for Gerald Finley's Count in their blazing Act II dialogues. The baritone plays a subtly dangerous man, gradually consumed by frustration and undone by the cleverness of those surrounding him. Finley's posture alone can speak volumes, and his singing offers constant pleasure.
The others all deserve mention — an adorable Cherubino (Rinat Shaham); a Bartolo (Jonathan Veira) blessedly lacking the typical buffoonery; a deliciously ripe-voiced Marcellina (Graciela Araya); a foppish, obsequious Basilio (Philip Langridge, true luxury casting); an unusually dignified Curzio (Francis Egerton); and an endearing father and daughter, Antonio (Jeremy White) and Barbarina (Ana James). Covent Garden's orchestra, hugely experienced in Figaro, plays with tremendous zest and accomplishment under music director Antonio Pappano, a conductor of immeasurable theatrical flair who also accompanies the secco recitatives himself.
Jonathan Haswell's video direction adds special distinction. There is much audible audience response to the text, even if numerous reactions come early (no surprise, as timing surtitles for Mozart–da Ponte recitatives is fiendishly difficult). The DVD's subtitles offer some priceless bloopers.