Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

Peter Mattei, Lorenzo Regazzo, Christiane Oelze,
Heidi Grant Murphy, Christine Schäfer
Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor
Christoph Marthaler, stage director

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound format: DTS Surround / LPCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 261 minutes
No. of DVDs: 2

• Lorenzo da Ponte's libretto and Mozart's music were to transform the stock characters of the opera buffa tradition into real human beings, making Le Nozze di Figaro one of the most sophisticated operas of all time. A charming, expressive and witty Figaro, Lorenzo Regazzo leads a sparkling cast to illustrate superbly the timeless humanity of this masterpiece. Christoph Marthaler's take on Mozart's classic is both daringly original and highly contemporary, the setting transposed to a wedding-dress shop lit with neon lights and a shabby register office.

"Update is the imperfect noun we use. Christoph Marthaler's production has transposed 18th-century upstairs-downstairs to bridal retail in 2001. We get Mozart's music and Da Ponte's words, subject to Mr. Marthaler's cheerful interventions and interpolations, but everyone onstage dresses like you and me. Christine Schäfer's Cherubino is the most successful transplant. With her T-shirt, hip-hop jeans, mop wig and chewing gum, Ms. Schäfer sings sweetly and argues well for the lovesick page as ghastly 21st-century teenager… Lorenzo Regazzo is a natural born Figaro..." New York Times