Le Nozze Di Figaro Character Comparison: (Almaviva and Susanna)

Le Nozze Di Figaro Character Comparison: (Almaviva and Susanna)

Le nozze di Figaro or The Marriage of Figaro Marriage of Figaro is an opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, KV 492nd The Italian libretto is by Lorenzo da Ponte and is based on the comedy La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro (The Great Day or The Marriage of Figaro) by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, from 1778. The premiere took place on 1 May 1786 at Vienna's Burgtheater in place. The opera is set in the castle of Count Almaviva in Aguasfrescas near Seville around 1780 (Gutman, Robert, 2001).

Character Analysis

Rachel Willis-Sorensen is young, twenty-seven, though eight years older than the character she assumes on the stage of the Royal Opera House: Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. There have been some memorable Countesses over the years at this stage - Elisabeth Söderström (1967), Kiri Te Kanawa (1971 and 1972), Margaret Price (1974), Pilar Lorengar (1976), Karita Mattila (1987), Felicity Lott (1991 and 1995), Christine Brewer (1994) to name just a few - yet Rachel is refreshingly pragmatic about her own position: “This is my big debut with the Company, and this is only the second professional engagement that I have done since leaving the Young Artists circuit, so it is a very big step, and I am extraordinarily fortunate to be in this position. To start at the top: it is like I am already peaking; I am only 27” (Gutman, Robert, 2001).

Rachel's rise in opera has been meteoric, and has not been without the requisite about of good fortune, too. Kate Royal was scheduled [to sing as the Countess], but she had a 'happy' accident - she fell pregnant. Peter Katona (Director of Casting) was a judge at the Belevdere Competition in Vienna, which Rachel won. Then Tony [Pappano] came to Denmark, which was in itself surprising and laudable -Rachel never had a conductor be so accommodating that way - and so she sang for him and worked with him in the audition. He was so engaging and interested, and acutely aware of everything that was going on, which is such an uncommon blessing. Rachel had bad experiences where she had flown at her own expense to somewhere and had people not show up for auditions, so this really was different. Even if she had not got the job, the coaching itself was of enormous benefit. To have Tony's stamp of approval has been incredible. Rachel's grateful and happy attitude is infectious. Royal Opera has given her huge confidence in herself (Gutman, Robert, 2001).

It has only been in the past few years that opera has really caught-on with her. She has sung all her life, but did not have any association with Classical Music until she was about seventeen. She sang a lot of jazz, pop and in musicals - and would lose her voice once a week - and she screamed her way through that 'belty' ...