Review: A 'Marriage' made in heaven

Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is over 230 years old, but the new Opera Theatre of Saint Louis production is as fresh as (to quote W.S. Gilbert) “the flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la.”

Aubrey Allicock and Monica Dewey
Photo by Eric Woolsey

Credit director Mark Lamos, whose theatrical resume is substantial, for keeping the pace tight and respecting both the material and his audience enough to make sure the comic business is all based on the characters, the text, and the music-something which is by no means guaranteed when it comes to comic opera of this vintage. He's content to tell Mozart and Da Ponte's story without imposing a questionable concept on it, and the quality of the results speaks (and sings) for itself.

The cast could hardly be better, headed by bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock as the resourceful Figaro and soprano Monica Dewey as his bride-to-be Susanna, who does not suffer fools gladly. Bass-baritone Nathan Stark is a masterful Dr. Bartolo, mezzo Samantha Gossard an endearingly love-struck Cherubino, and baritone Theo Hoffman, whose Josef K. was a highlight of OTSL's The Trial two years ago, is just as impressive in the radically different role of Almaviva. Soprano Susannah Biller, who was a perfect Adina in OTSL's Elixir of Love in 2014, once again proves both a strong singer and actress in the wide-ranging role of Rosina, the Countess Almaviva.

Susannah Biller
Photo by Eric Woolsey

The rest of the company is just as solid, all the way down to the smallest roles. Christopher Allen conducts a solid reading of the score from the harpsichord.

Performances of The Marriage of Figaro are sung in English (the wonderful translation by Andrew Porter the OTSL commissioned back in 1981) and continue through June 29th at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus.