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SIMULCAST - The Marriage of Figaro 2021

July 10 - August 27, 2021

Join us for a “DRIVE-IN” Simulcast Opera Experience!

For the 2021 Season, each evening’s performance of The Marriage of Figaro will be simulcast onto two state-of-the-art LED video walls in our lower parking lots. There you will find sweeping views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the opera playing on your own car radio!

Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Entrance: Exit 168 of US 84/285. Enter on Opera Drive – turn right before you get to the main theater parking lot on the south side of the theater. There will be parking lot attendants to direct you in to the lot.

Before you purchase tickets, please review our FAQs.

Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Sung in
Italian
On Screen Translations
English
Spanish
Directed for the Screen by
Bruce Bryant
Assistant Video Director
Beth Krynicki
Audio Engineer
Michael Schweppe
Simulcast Production Company
Staging Solutions
Screens Provided by
db Production Services
Production Support Generously Provided By
James R. Seitz, Jr.
Simulcast Sponsors
Brooke Suzanne Gray
James V. & Dana Pope Manning
Gene & Jean Stark
Premiered
May 1, 1786 at the Burgtheater, Vienna
Run Time
Approximately 3 hours 27 minutes with one 25-minute intermission

Synopsis

Act I

Morning.

On the morning of his wedding, Figaro is trying out the space for the marital bed while his fiancée Susanna is trying on the bridal hat she’s made. He praises Count Almaviva’s generosity in moving them to this room as their first shared dwelling as man and wife. She is less than impressed by a “generosity” that moves their employer closer to reclaiming his jus primae noctis (feudal privilege of the lord to spend the wedding night with any bride who is a vassal on his lands). She runs to attend to the Countess, and Figaro resolves to foil the Count’s lascivious plan.

Marcellina has her own plans for Figaro’s wedding. Figaro has borrowed a large sum from her which he guaranteed against his own hand in marriage, she enlists Bartolo’s help. Knowing the Count is pursuing Susanna, she calculates that if the servant can deny the master, Almaviva will punish his wife’s maid by denying the wedding. Bartolo enjoys the idea of revenge on the valet of the man who ruined his own wedding plans (to Rosina, now Countess Almaviva) years ago. Susanna enters and she and Marcellina exchange too many compliments for either to proceed in the direction in which she was headed.

Cherubino the page intercepts Susanna and begs her to intercede for him with his godmother the Countess, that she may plead for him to the Count, who caught him the day before alone with tweenaged Barbarina and tried to throw him off the estate. The arrival of the Count interrupts their conversation, and Cherubino hides behind an armchair. Thus he accidentally overhears the Count’s gallantries toward Susanna — which are cut off by the arrival of Basilio, who’s come to confide Cherubino’s indiscretions toward the Countess. The Count hides behind the same chair and fumes. When his jealous pride can take no more, he bursts forth, only to discover he’s been hiding back-to-back with the page himself. A chorus of peasants, directed by Figaro, enters singing praise to the Count for having abolished the jus primae noctis. Desperate to be spared further embarrassment, Almaviva makes an excuse to hold the wedding that evening. Desperate to be rid of the pest, he orders Cherubino to report for duty as an officer of his regiment in Seville.

Act II

Mid-day.

The Countess, alone in her apartments, longs for the love she and her husband once enjoyed. Susanna comes to tell her of the Count’s unwanted attentions. Figaro joins them and presents his plan to trap the master: Figaro has sent him an unsigned note, by way of Basilio, revealing an assignation between the Countess and an admirer, fixed for that evening in the garden. He advises Susanna to pretend to accept the Count’s invitation to a tryst — and to send Cherubino (who has yet to leave for the army) in her clothes, in her place. The ladies, delighted, lock the door and commence costuming; but the arrival of the Count interrupts them and the panicked Countess hides Cherubino in the dressing-room. The Count shows his lady the mysterious note, hears a sudden sound, sees the Countess’s unease, tries to force the door, is dissuaded, demands the she escort him to fetch the necessary tools to open the closet … while Susanna slips in to take Cherubino’s place and the unluckily lucky boy leaps out the open window into the hedgerows. Returning, the Count is astonished to see Susanna, and not the hated page, step calmly from the wardrobe. The Countess is vindicated and the Count begs her pardon — though not before chastising her for such a cruel joke. Figaro enters to say the ceremony is prepared and awaits the celebrant. The Count filibusters. The gardener Antonio blusters in having just seen a man jump from above and hit the ground running. Figaro covers for the page, hopping to identify himself as the jumper. Then Marcellina and Bartolo bring their grievance and its attendant documentation, demanding the Count settle the score and marry Marcellina and Figaro.

Act III

Afternoon.

Almaviva considers the recent events. Susanna pops in for a flask of smelling salts for her mistress and, to his surprise, stays to make a date. Overhearing her whispering to Figaro on her way out, he realizes he’s the victim of a trick, and swears revenge. Meanwhile, Barbarina takes a nervous Cherubino back to her house to disguise him. An anxious Countess waits for Susanna to plan their own disguise: she herself, and not Cherubino, will meet the Count in Susanna’s clothes.

Don Curzio brings Marcellina’s case before the Count, demanding that Figaro pay up. But seeing the unusual tattoo on his arm, she and Bartolo recognize him as the fruit of their long-ago love. Not his bride and her defender, then, but his mother and father … everyone is overjoyed! Everyone except the Count, who now, with Figaro’s debt forgiven and the additional wedding of Marcellina and Bartolo to celebrate, must rethink his own plans.

The Count is sure Cherubino has left for Seville, but Antonio enters insisting that the boy is still on the grounds. Improvising on Figaro’s strategy, the Countess dictates a note to Susanna inviting the Count to the garden that evening. They seal it with a pin, to be “returned to sender.” A chorus arrives, containing one conspicuously awkward bridesmaid, and sings to the Countess, as Susanna kneels before the lord of the manor and slips him the note, on which he pricks his finger. The Countess recognizes Cherubino, and the Count soon does too. At the boiling point, he is outwitted by Barbarina, who asks to have the page for her husband.

Act IV

Evening.

Barbarina has been outwitted by the pin that pricked the Count. Figaro and Marcellina find her looking frantically for it, and she tells them the Count expects her to return it to Susanna. His suspicions fully kindled, Figaro turns to his mother, who reminds him that all the strategic strata are surely not yet known — and who, when he storms away “to avenge all husbands,” hastens to inform her former rival, now daughter-to-be, Susanna. Barbarina hides in the pavilion. Susanna and the Countess trade cloaks in the cooling air, and the Countess hides in the pavilion. Susanna, warned by Marcellina that Figaro is hiding in the dark, revels for a delicious instant in the knowledge that he’s listening. Cherubino enters in search of Barbarina, and finding “Susanna,” tries to seduce her — until the Count arrives for his own assignation and throws the lad out. While he attends in earnest to “Susanna,” the woman he thinks he’s found is found out by her own husband. Figaro has recognized Susanna’s voice, and he joins the joke by playing a grand love scene with his “Countess” for an audience of Almaviva. The Count’s jealousy explodes. While he is shouting down his servants’ cries for mercy, the Countess steps out to reveal herself. The Count is thunderstruck. He begs her forgiveness. The couples are reunited, and this mad day rolls to a close.

Artists

Vanessa Vasquez headshot

Vanessa Vasquez

Soprano

Countess Almaviva

Ying Fang

Ying Fang

Soprano

Susanna

Megan Marino

Megan Marino

Mezzo-Soprano

Cherubino

Samuel Dale Johnson headshot

Samuel Dale Johnson

Baritone

Count Almaviva

Nicholas Brownlee headshot

Nicholas Brownlee

Bass-baritone

Figaro

Patrick Carfizzi headshot

Patrick Carfizzi

Bass-Baritone

Don Bartolo

Susanne Mentzer Headshot

Susanne Mentzer

Mezzo-soprano

Marcellina

Lindsay Kate Brown Headshot

Lindsay Kate Brown

Mezzo-Soprano

Marcellina (Aug 24 & 27)

Brenton Ryan

Brenton Ryan

Tenor

Don Basilio

Thomas Cilluffo Headshot

Thomas Cilluffo

Tenor

Don Curzio

Cheyanne Coss Headshot

Cheyanne Coss

Soprano

Barbarina

Alaysha Fox Headshot

Alaysha Fox

Soprano

Bridesmaid

Ruby Dibble Headshot

Ruby Dibble

Mezzo-Soprano

Bridesmaid

Harry Bicket Headshot

Harry Bicket

Conductor

Laurent Pelly headshot

Laurent Pelly

Director & Costume Designer

Chantal Thomas headshot

Chantal Thomas

Scenic Designer

Jean Jacques Delmotte headshot

Jean-Jacques Delmotte

Associate Costume Designer

Duane Schuler headshot

Duane Schuler

Lighting Designer

Susanne Sheston headshot

Susanne Sheston

Chorus Master

FAQs

Your Health and Safety is our first concern! Audience Participation Required!

Tickets:

  • Tickets will be issued via Email.  We recommend taking a screenshot of your tickets as WiFi may be unreliable in the parking lots.
  • Please check your spam folders if you do not receive your tickets at least a week prior to the event. You should see a confirmation immediately after your purchase.
  • Tickets are non-refundable. Exchanges, however, are possible.
  • Simulcasts will proceed rain or shine. However, under adverse weather conditions such as (but not limited to): lightning, high wind, or torrential rain or hail, we may cancel the event, if necessary. ONLY IF A SIMULCAST IS CANCELLED will refunds be issued to the original ticket holder.
  • We encourage anyone who is feeling unwell not to attend a performance. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please call the Box Office prior to your performance to discuss your ticket options. We will work with patrons on a case-by-case basis.

Parking: 

  • Tickets are general admission within price zones.
  • Oversized vehicles will be parked as to no obstruct viewers from behind, to the best of our ability.
  • NO RVs or trailers will be allowed, utility or otherwise.
  • Smaller cars will be parked either closer to the screen or in a more central area within their price zone.
  • Parking attendants may need to move your location prior to the performance to allow for better viewing for all cars.
  • You may open the hatch of your car or SUV, however it cannot obstruct the view of other patrons.
  • Please remain with your vehicle at all times unless visiting the restrooms.
  • Pets are not allowed in the theater or parking lot.

Masks:

  • Masks are required when entering the Santa Fe Opera facilities and restrooms.
  • Your face mask should:
    • Have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric
    • Completely cover your nose and mouth
    • Fit snugly against the sides of your face without gaps
    • Have a nose wire to prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask
    • Single layer masks, gaiters or masks with visible exhalation valves or vents are not acceptable.

Tailgating:

  • Food may be consumed inside your vehicle or immediately adjacent to your vehicle.
  • Alcohol is not allowed.

Restrooms:

  • Restrooms will be available in the parking lot, including an ADA accessible, gender neutral facility. Please accompany any minors or dependents.
  • Patrons must sanitize their hands both before and after using the restroom facilities.

Sound:

  • Tune in to 88.7 FM on your car or portable radio to listen to the simulcast.