1786: The Figaro Revolution

Available for 36 days

1786, Vienna. A banned play, a cautious Emperor and an ambitious composer. When Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte set out to adapt Beaumarchais's controversial Marriage of Figaro, they are forced to tread carefully. Beneath the comedy lies a story about class, privilege and the abuse of power. As servants outwit masters and lovers test each other's loyalties, Mozart creates characters of unusual depth and complexity. Drawing together the immediacy of comic opera with the emotional range of serious drama, The Marriage of Figaro helps redefine what opera can achieve, placing recognisably human emotions at the heart of the story. Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the next eight programmes, historian Simon Schama is in the chair, as together they explore the rich musical world of the Classical era. Producer: Chris Taylor Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford Story Consultant: Kate Leys Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – “Voi che sapete" (extract) Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano) London Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Georg Solti (conductor) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – Overture Concerto Köln René Jacobs (conductor) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – “Se vuol ballare” Cesare Siepi (Figaro), bass Vienna Philharmonic Erich Kleiber (conductor) Pergolesi: La Serva Padrona: Duet - Lo conosco, a quegli occhietti Amanda Forsythe (Serpina), soprano Christian Immler (Uberto), bass-baritone Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs (conductors) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – “Non so più” Ann Murray (Cherubino), mezzo soprano Vienna Philharmonic Riccardo Muti (conductor) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – "Dove Sono" Kiri Te Kanawa (Rosina), soprano London Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Georg Solti (conductor) John Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles - "Once there was a golden bird" Renée Fleming (Marie Antoinette), soprano Philharmonia Orchestra Sebastian Lang-Lessing (conductor) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – Finale of Act II Lucia Popp (Susanna), soprano Samuel Ramey (Figaro), bass Thomas Allen (Count Almaviva), baritone Kiri Te Kanawa (Countess Almaviva), soprano Giorgio Tadeo (Antonio), bass Jane Berbié (Marcellina), mezzo-soprano Robert Tear (Don Basilio), tenor Kurt Moll (Doctor Bartolo), bass London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Opera Chorus Sir Georg Solti (conductor) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte - "Soave sia vento" Miah Persson (Fiordiligi), soprano Angela Brower (Dorabella), mezzo-soprano Rolando Villazón (Ferrando), tenor Chamber Orchestra of Europe Yannick Nézet-Séguin, (conductor) To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."