The Marriage of Figaro review โ Danielle de Nieseโs slick direction weds finery with fun
Wild Arts Summer Opera festival, Layer Marney Tower, Essex A touring show was quite a challenge for the opera starโs first directorial gig, but dynamic singing, charismatic orchestral play and clever stage jokes pull it off brilliantly โFour boxes, six screens, four chairs and a treeโ: the sum total of scenery for Wild Artsโ new English-language production of Mozartโs Marriage of Figaro is modest by operatic standards. This staging needs to travel light, since itโs destined for performances in more than 20 arts centres, theatres, churches and gardens across the UK over the next three months. But leave pondering the logistics to the professionals โ the miraculous thing about this bare-essentials Figaro is how well it works in situ. Particularly given that its director is entirely new to the role. Danielle de Niese is not just any first-timer, of course. The Australian-born, Glyndebourne-dwelling star soprano made her debut at New Yorkโs Metropolitan Opera aged 19 as Barbarina in Mozartโs opera, and in the decades since has sung the role of Susanna all over the world. Few directorial newbies could match such inside-out knowledge of this work and its characters. Continue reading...