The Marriage of Figaro Overture
Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is a comic opera composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The opera is the first of three he collaborated on with Italian librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, with the other two being Don Giovanni and Così Fan Tutte.
The Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later and recounts a single "day of madness" (la folle giornata) in the palace of Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; Dr Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his plans to marry Rosina himself; and Count Almaviva has degenerated from the romantic youth of Barber into a scheming, bullying, skirt-chasing baritone. Having gratefully given Figaro a job as head of his servant staff, he is now persistently trying to obtain the favours of Figaro's bride-to-be, Susanna. He keeps finding excuses to delay the civil part of the wedding of his two servants, which is arranged for this very day. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess conspire to embarrass the Count and expose his scheming. He responds by trying to compel Figaro legally to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, but it turns out at the last minute that she is really his mother. Through Figaro's and Susanna's clever manipulations, the Count's love for his Countess is finally restored.
The overture to the opera is especially famous and is often played as a concert item. Very little of the musical material in the overture ever appears in the opera which is perhaps why it works as a concert item. It has been superbly arranged here by Owen Farr.