Figaro

Programming

Figaro is insolence, joie de vivre and glibness. It’s the man with a head and no situation who plays with men with a situation and no head. Plays & helps.

He’s handsome.
He sings.
He can do everything and nothing.
He’s enjoying life.
He doesn’t sit anywhere, he’s the Laughing Eye that walks around and has fun.

It has been said quite regularly that he was in the origins of the French Revolution. Another commoner better than a nobleman?
Again – because Molière is full of commoners better than the bourgeois and the “petits marquis”.

So Figaro is a creation of Monsieur de Beaumarchais – who still gives his name to the theatrical creations of France. Without further comment.

He wrote two successive plays: The Barber of Seville – where Figaro arranges the love affairs of Count Almaviva; and The Marriage of Figaro, where our famous Count is tired of his beautiful wife and would like to change a little.

The action is in Spain: a rather imaginary Spain, but what does it matter? The features are there and it allows us to criticize France without France being offended.

Out of these two brilliant comedies came two equally brilliant and funny operas.

I’m sure you know that :

The same, staged :

The sequel, The Marriage of Figaro – by Mozart, please.

This is a bit long, but I’d like to take this opportunity to show you how brilliant they are at the Geneva Opera: a very big house, every time they produce something, I’m blown away :

And a much shorter excerpt from the M.E.T which are also … too good! (how can you speak English so easily? There are traps everywhere – there I know I haven’t found them.)

So, me, if I program a season and I know all this, what do I do?

I program the plays.
I’m in light-hearted comedies where the little ones have fun with the big ones.
So I can launch a whole series of light comedies throughout the year – and thus have a general theme on : Insolence and Lightness.
This allows me to add: a circus show / a dance show / a show for young audiences.

So let’s put 7 shows on the theme.
I add the 2 operas, that will make 9.
I add a workshop on comedy: that will make 10.

I add two/three sequences of Extreme Virtuality right in the middle of my subject: insolence / lightness > so it will be a question of identifying “insolent” locations for my “fearless travellers of imaginary worlds” (no I won’t add anything at all). These sequences will of course be taken in the shows of this theme.

And now, I am the spectator discovering the season.
I have in front of me theme entries – which form packs of shows/activities
I’m taking the whole package – for me, the love of my life, our children and all the company. A pack is cheaper and/or better placed in the room.

This will make it easier for Altair to fill its halls and shows.

No barriers for the language of the plays: the translation systems on the stage cage are flawless and work very, very well.
(Did you see? I’m not talking about the audio systems, which cost much more… ) Sometimes I’m very reasonable.

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Featured Image : called “Bobbie Bones, barber & teacher” – and in the end, i’ve found a real barber in Rotterdam : Shorem Barbier – and you know what ? they’re amazing 🙂

– and… as they’re amazing….., of course I have an idea for my Figaro Theme. Pardon.