Word: susanna
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...irony back into the music, and it could be argued--although perhaps not too convincingly--that having just the music makes some of the ironies clearer. There are beautifully ambiguous moments like the quiet, harp-like string passage-a rebuke to the Count, a relief to the Countess--when Susanna comes out of the closet in the second-act finale. And director Earl Kim's simple conducting and quiet, steady beat make it easier to see why the citizens of Prague, wiser than the Vienna court which accorded Figaro only a moderate success, adapted its tunes for popular dances...
...since most of this Figaro's singers are fine--particularly Judith Hubbell as Susanna and David Arnold as Figaro--the opera seems more complete than it might, even with the drama truncated. A concert version is certainly better than nothing: like the post-Watergate era, Mozart's music balances a multitude of sins...
...EVANS as Figaro has a strong and mature voice, although his bearings and mannerisms are perhaps a bit too ingenuous for the part. Jo Ella Todd holds her own as Susanna, with a clear-voiced elegance and presence. Richard Gill's voice is made for Italian opera, and a good makeup and costuming job made a convincing Count Almaviva out of him, while Elizabeth Phinney, who has the commanding character of the Countess down to a science, was the best of the female leads...
...Weber made a mirthful if somewhat incongruous Figaro. His ensemble singing was superb, but in the arias his voice often sounded a little cloudy. Only in the last, "Aprite un po'quegli occhi," did his singing become brilliant and colorful. Nancy Boyd as Susanna was the heroine of the production. Her voice was warm but clear, her phrasing and style impeccable...
John Adams coordinated the ensembles perfectly. The duets between Figaro and Susanna were all well balanced and blended; Susanna and Cherubino's "Aprite, preste aprito," one of the most bubbly spots in the score, came off with the proper mixture of fright and humor...