Both\u00a0Miriam Khalil and Cait Wood can recall their first exposures to Mozart\u2019s Le\u00a0nozze\u00a0di Figaro in their undergraduate degrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think every young soprano\u00a0learns the \u2018Deh\u00a0vieni\u2019\u201d, says Wood,\u00a0referencing\u00a0the most famous\u00a0aria\u00a0sung by her character, the cunning servant Susanna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both Wood and Khalil have since gone on to sing in multiple productions of this opera, which will be produced for the first time in over a decade by Manitoba Opera starting this weekend. Audiences\u00a0can expect a show filled with\u00a0some of Mozart\u2019s most familiar melodies under the baton of conductor Gordon Gerrard\u00a0combined\u00a0with madcap\u00a0hilarity under the direction of Winnipeg\u2019s Rob Herriot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s slapstick comedy, there\u2019s people dressing up in disguises, there\u2019s people pulling the wool over\u00a0each other’s\u00a0eyes trying to sneak up on people… there\u2019s a little bit of everything!\u2019 says Wood.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Slapstick meets subversion, humanity\u00a0<\/p>\n
Khalil, who plays the Countess Almaviva in the production, notes that the humour of the show is just one of the things that has made the show one of the most beloved in the repertoire.\u00a0Mozart made a point to have the lower-class servants \u2013 Susanna,\u00a0Figaro\u00a0and the Countess \u2013 be the ones to triumph over the Count and his plans to steal Susanna for himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
That subversion of class, according to Khalil, is satisfying for audiences to watch.\u00a0\u201cI think Mozart \u2013 and I don\u2019t mean this in a bad way \u2013 loved\u00a0women and\u00a0really didn\u2019t take them for granted and their intelligence for granted,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd so, that has rung true through the years where you see that\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not just the\u00a0servant class that is smarter than their masters, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0women that are outsmarting the men.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The other element of Figaro that Khalil says attracts audiences is the multiplicity of relationships shared on stage\u00a0between Susanna and Figaro and the Count and Countess.\u00a0\u201cOne couple is getting married \u2013\u00a0everything\u2019s\u00a0new,\u00a0everything\u2019s\u00a0amazing. One couple is deteriorating\u00a0\u2013 the\u00a0husband is cheating; the wife is depressed. And so, you see all these different layers of relationship, but also different layers of how these two couples relate to one another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
RELATED STORIES<\/p>\n
A familiar story in a new light\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manitoba Opera\u2019s production of Figaro adds another layer to the proceedings by placing the story in the mid-20th\u00a0century. With this setting comes a new social lens that Khalil and Wood add to their characters to make them fit in the production.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Wood notes that for audiences familiar with the story and music of the opera will gain a new a perspective on the story\u00a0not just from the opera\u2019s setting, but from their own life circumstances. \u201cThe first time you\u2019re seeing the show, you may relate to Figaro and Susanna who are kind of in the honeymoon phase,\u201d she explains, \u201cbut later in life, maybe you\u2019re going through some marital issues and maybe you\u2019ll see more of your relationship with the Count and Countess.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think as you return to it throughout your life,\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0see something and attach yourself\u00a0to something different that\u2019s happening in the story.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n