Musings upon the Oxford Opera Society’s Performance of Le Nozze Di Figaro

My Linguistics tutor posed a question to me this week: can you truly understand something if you don’t understand what is being said? On minimal sleep and with limited imagination at 10am on a Thursday I could not come up with a sufficiently academic response; however, I am familiar with the emotional one. I am familiar with the way in which emotions and performance can transcend words so that you forget that you do not speak the language being used. The human experience is one of feeling and that is certainly not restricted exclusively to one vernacular, as could be seen in the Oxford Opera Society’s Le Nozze Di Figaro which I had the pleasure of seeing not once but twice.

Until this week, the most I knew about opera was the fact that there was one happening in Oxford. I had a ticket booked to see the performance while it was at the Sheldonian and was curious, but admittedly that was it. Anyone who knows me (or follows this blog or my Instagram) will know that I am neck deep in everything drama related, but I am very much within the spheres of plays and musicals. It was not until a slightly out of the blue conversation about photographs that I found myself leaning against a pile of chairs in St Peter’s College chapel on a Wednesday evening, experiencing my first opera… I do not even know where to begin! I certainly cannot give you a blow by blow account as I am prone to do in my reviews, partly admittedly because I do not speak Italian or know the first thing about operas, but primarily because I was too caught up in the action to even contemplate fishing my notebook out of my bag.

The Marriage of Figaro was at once deeply emotional and profoundly funny, drawing its audiences into the depths of the action. Set in 1990s Hollywood, this interpretation drew attention to the stories to surface in the wake of the #MeToo movement and reminded us of the corruption that goes hand in hand with power. In this case it was Count Almaviva, played by the immensely talented Ben Gilchrist, who held all of the power – or at least he thought he did. For those of you who are as clueless about opera as I was, I will give a quick synopsis: The story tells the tale of Figaro and his Fiancé, Susanna, as they thwart the Count in his attempts to seduce the latter. Countess Almaviva and Susanna work together to expose the former’s husband’s treachery, leading him along a path of deceit and causing Figaro to doubt his bride in the process. There are subplots, which of course add layers of complications, however, in simple terms, this is what is taking place. It is a tale of love and is deeply evocative and emotional, but is also ultimately a comedic story of how chaotic life can become when nobody is on quite the same page and everyone has a slightly different agenda.

The skill that goes into bringing an opera to an audience is astounding, even to myself with my own experiences of student productions, but add to this the fact that the production was conducted and directed by Beth ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick mid Finals and the result is the next level of jaw dropping. There was not a moment of the opera (in either night that I was in the audience) that I was not blown away by the sheer magnitude and beauty of the whole enterprise. From the thought that had gone into the simple set, to the costumes, to performers themselves there was not a weak link. There were far too many wonderful scenes for me to even begin to list them all; however, amongst my favourites were certainly those which incorporated the pillars of the chapel. The sight of Susanna and Figaro on either side of a pillar, hands almost toughing was one of the most striking of the performance. Sophie Akka’s Susanna with her tendency towards wonderful facial expressions (both amused and distressed depending upon the occasion) was quite frankly brilliant, with her playful manner and emotional rollercoaster of an arc. Likewise, Ben Gilchrist’s scheming Count had a true stage presence and was excellently performed – I particularly enjoyed the endless instances of pure confusion. While I cannot review the singing performances, I can readily state that these two actors (as well as the entire cast) have impressive talent. There was not a single moment in which the audience was not completely immersed within the action. Awash with a pink glow, we went on Susanna’s emotional journey with her, experienced John Johnston’s Figaro become heartbroken at his new wife’s supposed betrayal, felt the heartbreak of Jessica Bergman’s Countess… In most performances it easy for me to pick out a favourite actor (or two) to single in on and discuss in more detail; however, I find it impossible to decide. This was one of those rare productions in which there was complete unity within the cast and every performer was so remarkable that each shone as brightly as stars upon the stage, lighting up the heavens as a joined constellation. Likewise, the orchestra was excellent and it was truly a pleasure to witness their talent under the amazing Fitz.

Ok, I promise to stop obsessing now!

What is undeniable is that this was the performance of the term (if not the year), with a remarkably skilled team breathing life into Mozart’s words and scores. In every moment, the audience was compelled to watch the action and even in those moments where the projector was unsure whether it was inclined to comply with what was required of it, there was no misinterpretation of meaning. This was a profoundly rich and emotional performance which made me proud to have been a part of the crew if only in a small capacity. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to see this performance twice and will be the first to admit that I am absolutely an opera convert and that Crudel has made it onto one of my playlists. I wait with baited breath to discover what project the Oxford Opera Society intends to wow us with next.