Members get information about when streams/downloads become available, as well as accessing podcast RSS feeds for freely-available content to make listening to great shows a breeze, Register Here

A trilogy of classic plays by Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais, including The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and The Guilty Mother

Forerunner to the renowned operas, The Figaro Plays by Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais are a celebration of how intelligence and wit can bring any servant level with their aristocratic masters. Considered scandalous in their time, the plays went on to be adapted by Rossini (The Barber of Seville) and Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro) to become some of the most popular and acclaimed operas of all time. These original plays show us the stories behind these popular operas.

In The Barber of Seville, Count Almaviva falls in love with a young noblewoman, but every attempt to seduce her is countered by her watchful guardian. Only his resourceful servant Figaro may get him what he wants… The Marriage of Figaro sees the Count grown tired of his marriage to Rosina, and instead his thoughts turn to Suzannah, Figaro’s own fiancée. Will Figaro’s wiles prove sufficient to save two marriages? And in The Guilty Mother, the Countess Almaviva finds troubles of her own with an illegitimate child on the way, and a scheming Major on hand to make every slip-up into a catastrophe. Once again, all depend on Figaro…

Translated by John Wells, the English actor, satirist, screenwriter, and co-founder of the magazine Private Eye, this trilogy of comic dramas are masterpieces of power, humour, and marital misadventure.

The post The Figaro Plays appeared first on Dimsdale Podcasts.