Le nozze di Figaro (1975)

Director:

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Writer:

Lorenzo da Ponte (libretto)

Stars:

Hermann Prey, Mirella Freni, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Cast

Cast overview:
Hermann Prey	...	Figaro
Mirella Freni	...	Susanna
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau	...	Il Conte di Almaviva
Kiri Te Kanawa	...	La Contessa di Almaviva
Maria Ewing	...	Cherubino
Paolo Montarsolo	...	Bartolo
Heather Begg	...	Marcellina
John van Kesteren	...	Basilio
Hans Kraemmer	...	Antonio
Janet Perry	...	Barbarina
Willy Caron	...	Don Curzio

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

spain | comic opera | barber | sequel | marriage | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

Italian

Company Credits

Production Co:

UNITEL

Technical Specs

Runtime:

181 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Ein toller Tag (1954)

User Reviews

Generally excellent!

Despite the rather old-fashioned German romantic approach that Böhm takes to the music, this is certainly the most satisfactory recording, with a stellar cast, of the opera. I thought that Maria Ewing was especially convincing as the boy Cherubino and Fischer-Dieskau, Prey, Freni and Te Kanawa both sang and acted beautifully. If you prefer a modern musicological approach, then try elsewhere but for a cast of stars near their peak, this is the one.

But I am reminded by another review, that there is one annoying feature of this film: this is the tendency to make everything more "realistic" by having the characters keep their mouths closed while their pre-recorded voices continue to sing. I find this unconvincing and I think the director should have accepted the fact that singing in real situations is not realistic.

Forget realism; this is opera!

8-10