>>PREVIEW
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
Written by Beaumarchais
Directed by Barry Yzereef
Runs until February 25
University Theatre (U of C)
Although The Marriage of Figaro has been declared the greatest comedy ever written, the title is more likely to conjure up images of Mozart’s opera rather than Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais’s play, on which it was based. Both tell the story of a nobleman who believes he has a right to whatever he desires, including the sweetheart of his valet Figaro, who doesn’t honour the count’s sense of entitlement.
Figaro appears in a trilogy by Beaumarchais: Le Barbier de Seville, Le Mariage de Figaro and La Mère Coupable. All three have become operas – in addition to Mozart’s, there’s Rossini’s The Barber of Seville; La Mère Coupable, based on the title play, with music and libretto by Darius Milhaud; and more recently, 1991’s The Ghosts of Versailles, based loosely on La Mère Coupable, with music by John Corigliano and libretto by William M. Hoffman.
The endearing Figaro plays written by Beaumarchais are favourites of many fans’ French take on the world, including Barry Yzereef, associate professor in the department of drama at the University of Calgary. He is bringing his expertise in musical theatre and opera to his directing of Beaumarchais’s play.
Yzereef notes that Mozart’s opera omitted two controversial speeches that show the playwright’s brilliance in stirring up the social conscience of audiences with his articulation of their discontent. One speech advocates women’s rights and the other has our hero Figaro proclaiming that only a chance birth accounts for his master’s status in the world. In short, he is as valuable as his master – an audacious thought prior to the French Revolution. There are even those who credit the playwright with accelerating the revolution, and some find the plays to be autobiographical.
What is known is that Beaumarchais, a watchmaker, musician, lucky investor and arms dealer, lived a more adventurous life than most fictional heroes. He used his plays and essays to win public favour when he found other routes, like the courts, against him. He wrote during a turbulent period of France’s history and, as a result, his plays have layers of meaning, offering a variety of ways to be presented. They were considered scandalous when first performed, and have been banned throughout history.
Yzeeref says his biggest challenge has been to keep Mozart’s music out of his head. In directing the best of 100 performers who answered the open audition call, he reminds them that they must not lean on the unheard music of Mozart’s opera. He guides them by concentrating on the play and its writing, a comedy of the hectic French farce style that has entertained thousands over the years.
Presenting Beaumarchais’s Figaro, which may have inspired Mozart’s opera, is a fitting way to celebrate the composer’s birthday. That, combined with the fact that it was suggested and sponsored by engineers at the university, is cause for celebration. |
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