Opera Australia Interview With The Marriage Of Figaro Singers

Opera Australia presents their production of The Marriage of Figaro, which is currently running throughout February at the stunning Sydney Opera House. We spoke with three of the opera’s stars about their return to the stage – Mario Cassi, Ekaterina Morozova, and Tommaso Barea.

The Marriage of Figaro

A chaotic whirlwind of mistaken identities makes the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna a lesson in hilarity.

With a witty, fast-moving libretto and hum-along melodies, it’s easy to see why Mozart’s classic comedy continues to charm audiences the world over.

Musically, this is the ultimate ensemble opera, with brilliant trios, quartets and even a fantastic sextet laced through the score. Dramatically, it’s the opera with everything: lovers and liaisons, tricks and disguises, lust and laughter.

The Countess loves Count Almaviva, but he’s got designs on her servant Susanna. It’s Susanna’s wedding day, and Figaro has no plans of giving up his bride. In one crazy day of disguises, duplicity, desire and utter madness, the fiancés must foil the philandering noble’s seductive advances.

Young soprano Stacey Alleaume reprises her role as Susanna. Russian soprano Ekaterina Morozova is the Countess with Tommaso Barea as Figaro. Mario Cassi is the Count.

Sir David McVicar’s naturalistic staging opens a “comic cauldron of sex and social politics” (Limelight), where the comedy has a dark, sharp edge.

True to 17th-century design and detail, historical fashion specialist Jenny Tiramani clothes the aristocracy in ravishing silks and the servants in cornflower blue. David Finn’s radiant lighting streams through vaulted windows illuminating enormous rooms in sunlight and moonbeams as day turns to night.

Mario Cassi

Mario Cassi made his operatic debut in 2001 within “Voci in Musica”, performing Guglielmo (Così Fan Tutte) and Signor Lupo (Henze’s Pollicino) conducted by Claire Gibault and directed by Daniele Abbado. He won several prestigious international competitions: “Toti Dal Monte” in 2002; “Viotti” in 2002 (“Cesare Bardelli” Special Prize); Placido Domingo Operalia in 2003 (Zarzuela Prize) and Spiros Argiris in 2004 (2nd Prize). He is specializing under the guidance of Bruno De Simone and Alessandra Rossi De Simone. He also graduated in Economics at the University in Florence.He has been nominee Cavaliere della Repubblica per Meriti Artistici by Italian President Mattarella 2017.

Hi Mario, thanks for talking with us at TheatreArtLife! This is an exciting time as you’re making your Australian debut in The Marriage of Figaro playing The Count. How are you feeling as opening night approaches and how are the preparations going?

I feel super excited and can’t wait to meet the public and to live together with an audience through three hours of extraordinary music and theatre, which actually, after more than 200 years, still arouses very strong emotions and reactions all over the world, thanks to Mozart’s music and fantastic prose by Da Ponte.

The rehearsals are going very well; there is great energy and the desire to improve every day. The crew and the cast are amazing. Thursday will certainly be one of the most memorable evenings of my career in the theatre.

As an international artist, have you found that the preparations and rehearsal process are different in Australia compared to other countries? Have you also found a difference as we reopen following the pandemic?

I found a very high level of artistic and technical preparation here in Sydney. But I wasn’t surprised, Opera Australia has a notable reputation and remarkable fame in Europe.

Obviously the post Covid protocols, all over the world, force us to maintain very careful behaviours that unfortunately create distances and keep people away, but it is not possible to do otherwise. Here I really appreciate the fact that the theatre tests all workers involved every day. I think that together with vaccines, this gives us all the reassurance of experiencing the theatre as a safe reality, which we cannot give up.

In 2017 BBC Music Magazine polled the world’s greatest opera singers and they voted The Marriage of Figaro the “greatest opera ever written”. In your opinion, why do you think Mozart’s opera came top of the list, and what do you love about it?

I think that Mozart in The Marriage of Figaro has created an absolute masterpiece, one of those that remains eternally current, because he has staged humankind with its virtues and vices, both of which are eternal. All this is seasoned with a text full of joyful but also melancholy moments.

So I am not surprised that it is the favorite work of classical music lovers, as when I play it to friends and relatives who have never gone to the opera and have never even listened to Pavarotti on TV, they are immediately impressed and after a few minutes already sing along to some melodies. I think this is enough to explain the number one ranking! 

You’ve played the role of The Count previously, and I’m interested in whether your experience and interpretation of the role differs between companies and as you move through life?

I have staged several productions of Nozze di Figaro, not as many as Rossini’s Il Figaro – which I have done in more than 25 productions around the world, but it was with the Count that I made my absolute debut in a production by students now 23 years ago, so yes, I am very fond of this role. I then sang both Figaro and Conte in the Mozart masterpiece, but I immediately felt that my role was only that of the Count.

Without any doubt it’s the role that offers the baritone the greatest opportunities to show the voice and the possibility of both extension and virtuosity.

And I am happy that this year I already have two other productions on the calendar such as Conte in Dresden and Zurich. I must say David McVicar’s vision of this role is the one that has satisfied me the most because it involves me every single moment and every word I have to pronounce, with a keen intention.

And I must say that both the director Andy Morton and the maestro Andrea Molino have worked on every single word with a continuous search for a truth and a particular emotion. I feel very lucky to be able to spend three weeks of daily and intense rehearsals in this way, and I hope that all this will reach the public as well.

Regarding the timing of my life and my interpretation of this role, I think that now I am in the prime of my vocals and in my middle age, and that it is truly the best time to do this role. I see the Count as a middle-aged man who feels the earth fall under his feet, seeing young people like Cherubino slowly but surely taking his place in the hearts of women… this leads him to look for a new conquest everywhere every time. As happens to the men who’ve arrived at the middle of the walk.

Looking ahead, I see that you’re returning to Opera Australia and playing Giorgio Germont from July in the production of La Traviata. How are you enjoying your experience working ‘down under’ with OA and a year ahead that looks very bright for you?

I am actually living a very happy moment in my career and in life, being able to play the roles I love in such important theatres where you work at a very high level and in such beautiful countries.

It is quite common for a baritone to reach this maturity and fullness of means around my age, but of course to be able to return to this theatre which is the dream of every European opera singer, and to this city which is a dream for everyone from European citizens to beyond, makes me feel even more lucky and privileged.

Music has always made me live like in a dream, and I still haven’t woken up!

Ekaterina Morozova

Ekaterina Morozova has been a leading soprano of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow since 2016, where she has starred in several important roles, such as Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, the title role in Rusalka, Donna Anna in The Stone Guest, the title role in Iolanta, Mercedes in Carmen, the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La Boheme, Tsaritsa Militrisa in The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Dalinda in Ariodante. In the current season, Morozova makes her debut with Opera Australia as the Countess.

Hi Ekaterina, thanks for talking with us at TheatreArtLife! This is an exciting time as you’re making your Australian debut in The Marriage of Figaro playing The Countess. How are you feeling as opening night approaches and how are the preparations going?

It is indeed an exciting time and we are currently in the final stage of rehearsals. I am very glad to be a part of this performance and of this cast, I hope we found some artistic and personal understanding among singers as well as with our conductor, director and technical staff.

I am very impressed with Sydney as a town, with people in Australia and with Opera Australia – a magical place that helps to display artistic skills!

As an international artist, have you found that the preparations and rehearsal process are different in Australia compared to other countries? Have you also found a difference as we reopen following the pandemic?

I like to sing Mozart very much and especially The Countess. I especially like OA’s version for the lack of cuts, simply put – it is as close to the original as it gets.

We have a very good conductor! It is always a benefit when the maestro “breathes with singers” – it makes it a lot easier to work with.

Wonderful director! He cleverly picks his words to explain an image of a heroine and her feelings. His explanations are very precise. I should mention our great cast, not only are they outstanding singers but also play and perform as true artists! I like that we have a very precise plan and one knows minute by minute where and when you are supposed to be. It all leads to well-coordinated teamwork and pretty much leaves no place for protraction.

As for the pandemic, I am only surprised with the necessity of testing every morning. It’s a good way to be sure you are not a risk to everyone else, but I had never heard of such precaution and procedure before.

In 2017 BBC Music Magazine polled the world’s greatest opera singers and they voted The Marriage of Figaro the “greatest opera ever written”. In your opinion, why do you think Mozart’s opera came top of the list, and what do you love about it?

I think it is because the opera combines an easiness of music perception with all the lyrics of the libretto. At the same time it has both comic lines as well as viability while there is no longeur or prolixity – the opera goes in a high gear, in one breath.

You’ve played the role of the Countess previously, and I’m interested in whether your experience and interpretation of the role differs between companies and as you move through life?

Well, this is my second production of Le Nozze di Figaro and what’s interesting is that both premieres – in Bolshoi and in Opera Australia – took place in the same year of 2015. Although the musical part is pretty much the same, the stage set and costumes and colours used are very different in those mentioned productions.

Bolshoi sets the play in 1950-60s with some modern elements – a car rolls on the stage, costumes are of that time, bright colors and lighting, in a two-decker house where it all takes place. You have to combine classical Mozart with such modern interpretation.

Here, in Opera Australia, the play is purely classical with costumes and everything as close to the original time as one could imagine. I like it very much and I must add that it all lives in harmony with the colours and light used.

Looking ahead, are you enjoying your experience working with Opera Australia, and how is 2022 shaping up for you?

Any invitation to Australia, to the Sydney Opera House, is always an honour! Besides, as I have already mentioned OA has an outstanding organising framework – from booking a flight or an apartment to rehearsal and daily testing. I surely hope all the plays will be as planned, as a standard mode.

I am enjoying working with Opera Australia and I’d love to come here again and sing on this beautiful stage!

Right after Sydney I am flying home to Moscow where my family and my little daughter are waiting and they miss me very much! I may say that almost without any pause or a break I am starting my new year in the Bolshoi where I have a large repertoire.

Tommaso Barea

Venetian bass-baritone, Tommaso Barea received his bachelor’s degree in Treviso/Italy with Pr. Sherman Lowe.

In 2014 as being the youngest winner of the “European Union Competition” in Spoleto/Italy he debuted with the role of Schaunard in La Bohème, while he was attending Spoleto’s Festival of Two World Academy. In 2016 he joined the ensemble of Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino where he perfected his studies under the tutelage of Gianni Tangucci.

Additionally he participated in International Master Classes and Opera Workshops with among others, Chris Merrit, Alfonso Antoniozzi, Enza Ferrari, Michele Errico, Marco Berti and Katia Ricciarelli as also has collaborated with acclaimed conductors like Z.Mehta, G.Bisanti, J.Valcuha, R.Estrada, G.Tourniaire, G.La Malfa, M.Beltrami, S.Rolli , N.Paszkowski, M.Angius, P.Walsh and with directors like H.De Ana, G.Del Monaco, D.Michieletto, A. Bernard, J.Furness.

Hi Tommaso, thanks for talking with us at TheatreArtLife! This is an exciting time as you’re making your Australian debut in The Marriage of Figaro playing Figaro. How are you feeling as opening night approaches and how are the preparations going?

The sensation to debut such a great, complete, complex and explosive role is boundless. To do it here is much more incredible and astonishing. But the professional singer always tries to approach every role in every different place with the same stamina and maximum preparation. I’m sure you have heard about this “mantra”. While it is true, feelings change if you are obtaining results in similar high class places, but the dedication and the study are the same.

As an international artist, have you found that the preparations and rehearsal process are different in Australia compared to other countries? Have you also found a difference as we reopen following the pandemic?

The welcome I received here was perfect, which is rare and comparable only with my experiences in the countries of Korea and Japan.

More than this, at Opera Australia every task that needs a specific professional worker is indeed entrusted to a prepared person. In Europe we often miss this intelligent distribution of jobs. Also the relaxed environment here is giving us the freedom to express every desire in comfort.

Regarding the pandemic situation I prefer not to comment, but offer a personal consideration. After at least 50 tests here until now, I consider this tragedy a good occasion to test the ethical balance of surrounding people.

In 2017 BBC Music Magazine polled the world’s greatest opera singers and they voted The Marriage of Figaro the “greatest opera ever written”. In your opinion, why do you think Mozart’s opera came top of the list, and what do you love about it?

I think that everything I could say about this masterpiece has already been written. But personally, I think we are currently in a society that is much more interested and used to cinematography than classical music.

Because you spoke about rankings, do you know which movie is always in first place in rankings of the most beautiful movies of all time? The Shawshank Redemption. Do you remember which music is chosen, there, to describe the concept of freedom? The answer of Frank Darabont was: Le nozze di Figaro; and the words of Morgan Freeman (a simple and ignorant life, in the movie):

“I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t wanna know. Some things are best left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you those voices soared, higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.“

How are you enjoying your experience working with Opera Australia, and what can we look forward to from you next in 2022?

In my mind this experience is mixed between the beauty of this city and this glorious production of Sir McVicar. We are performing an immortal opera in a direction even more tradtional than the orignal one: a direction set a century even before the composition. This is extremely rare.

To do it in a metropolis which is one of the icons of contemporaneity and avantgarde is definitely a bomb of inspiration for an artist, as I myself am puzzled between the antiquities and the modern study of sentiment. A great metaphor!

In Europe few places have a stable ensemble for singers. So the possibility to collaborate with Australian artists is a real, again, immersion in the culture, in their working-minds, and it is not only a huge pleasure but it is a big lesson, too.

My next contracts are still in progress, and I’m not anticipating anything. I can only inform you that I’m preparing my first discography work.

Links:

The Marriage of Figaro

Mario Cassi

Ekaterina Morozova

Tommaso Barea

Also by Michelle Sciarrotta: