The Marriage
of Figaro

Let me be young 

Welcome to a wedding full of bubbling music and burning desire! Here, hopes for the future merge with the realities of the past, new infatuations and hardened contempt. Privileges are threatened and power is at stake.  

Susanna and Figaro are about to embark on building their life together. But first they have to manoeuvre their way through a maze of obstacles. Among them: an employer – a count who has seen better days and dreams of being young again. 

Comedy with dark undercurrents 

Susanna and Figaro work for and live with the count and countess in their home, where an intergenerational drama unfolds. Whereas Susanna has her entire life ahead of her, the countess mourns the loss of what could have been. She was once the one to turn heads – now she longs for what is gone forever. She is also grieving for the little life she once lost.  

Miraculous music 

Beneath the surface of the comedy is a smouldering melancholy that Mozart captures to perfection. 

In the words of composer Johannes Brahms, “Every act in The Marriage of Figaro is a miracle.” With his sparkling musicality and precise portrayal of human nature, Mozart created an opera that never ceases to engage. 

New voices – new energy 

South African director Matthew Wild places The Marriage of Figaro in a keen and vivid setting, spotlighting generational conflicts.  

On stage is a young, energetic ensemble and in the orchestra pit, Italian baroque specialist Ottavio Dantone conducts Mozart's timeless music.