MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, THE

(Le Nozze di Figaro) Composer: WOLFGANG A MADE US MOZART Book by LORENZO DA PONTE, from Beau march a is’ comedy Le Mariage de Figaro First performance: Burg theater, Vienna, May 1, 1786 2 acts. FicGaro, valet to Count Almaviva, is to marry Susanna, maid to the Counte . Cherub i no, a page, is in love with the Counte . When Cherub i no asks Susanna’s help the Count arrives to pay her court, and Cherub i no hides behind a chair, only to be quickly succeeded there by the Count himself when the music master, Don Basilio, arrives. The knowledge of intended infidelity of each on the part of another keeps both silent. The Counte , mildly unhappy about the Count’s unfaithfulne , is aided by Susanna, Figaro, and Cherub i no in an attempt to mend his ways. Cherub i no is to dre as Susanna. This is not accomplished before the Count is heard arriving, and Cherub i no hides in a closet. The Count hears him, goes for something with which to pry open the door, only to find Susanna in the closet, Cherub i no having leaped out the window. Mar cell in a, a duenna, arrives with a promise made by Figaro to marry her daughter in payment of an old debt. This to the Count eliminates Figaro, and makes the winning of Susanna easy. But Mar cell in a turns out to be Figaro’s mother. Ina new intrigue, the Counte and Susanna exchange costumes. In the final resolution the Count and the Counte are reunited, and Figaro and Susanna will be married, at last.