Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Returns To The Royal Opera

David McVicar's acclaimed production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro returns to The Royal Opera for its sixth revival since its 2006 premiere. Renowned English conductor John Eliot Gardiner leads a stellar cast, including German baritone Christian Gerhaher as Figaro, American soprano Joélle Harvey as his beloved Susanna, German soprano Julia Kleiter in her Royal Opera debut as Countess Almaviva and British baritone Simon Keenlyside as her philandering husband Count Almaviva.

The Marriage of Figaro marked Mozart's first collaboration with Lorenzo da Ponte (who would later provide librettos for Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte) and is based on Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais' controversial play Le Mariage de Figaro. The opera explores the events of a single day at the estate of Count Almaviva. The Count's valet Figaro plans to marry the Countess's maid Susanna, but the Count wants Susanna for himself and is determined to prevent the marriage. Combining intrigue, misunderstanding, romance and forgiveness, this heart-warming comic opera is one of Mozart's best-loved works.

In his detailed and historically informed production, director David McVicar draws inspiration both from the revolutionary attitudes explored in Beaumarchais' original play and from the second French Revolution of July 1830. The Marriage of Figaro is the third David McVicar production performed by The Royal Opera during the 2018/19 Season, following revivals of his productions of Gounod's Faust and Giordano's Andrea Chénier. McVicar returns to the Company next Season to direct a new production of Britten's Death in Venice, performed alongside a revival of his much loved, magical production of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Christian Gerhaher makes his role debut as Figaro, performing alongside Joélle Harvey in her Royal Opera House main stage debut as Susanna. Simon Keenlyside returns as Count Almaviva, nearly a quarter-century after singing the role with The Royal Opera for the first time, while German soprano Julia Kleiter makes her Company debut as Countess Almaviva. Korean-American countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim makes his Royal Opera debut as Cherubino, a role usually sung by a soprano or mezzo soprano, which he has previously sung for Theater Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. British mezzo-soprano Diana Montague returns to The Royal Opera as Marcellina, celebrating the 40th anniversary of her Company debut. Other members of the cast include Italian bass Maurizio Muraro as Bartolo and French tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt as Don Basilio. John Eliot Gardiner conducts all performances.

The Marriage of Figaro opens on 29 June 2019, with subsequent performances on 1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 17, 19 and 21 July 2019.

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