The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro (Italian: Le nozze di Figaro, pronounced [le ˈnÉ”ttse di ˈfiË?É¡aro]), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786. The opera's libretto is based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro ("The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro"), which was first performed in 1784. It tells how the servants Figaro and Susanna succeed in getting married, foiling the efforts of their philandering employer Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna and teaching him a lesson in fidelity.

The Marriage of Figaro is a cornerstone of the repertoire and appears consistently among the top ten in the Operabase list of most frequently performed operas.

Composition history

Beaumarchais's earlier play The Barber of Seville had already made a successful transition to opera in a version by Paisiello. Although Beaumarchais's Marriage of Figaro was at first banned in Vienna because of its licentiousness, Mozart's librettist managed to get official approval for an operatic version which eventually achieved great success.

Marriage (disambiguation)

Marriage is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses.

Marriage may also refer to:

Figaro

The term Figaro may refer to any of the following:

Literature

Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa ONZ DBE AC (pronounced /ËŒkɪri táµ» ˈkÉ‘Ë?nÉ™wÉ™/; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand soprano who has had a successful international opera career since 1968. She possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced".

Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries abroad, singing a wide array of works in multiple languages from the 17th to the 20th centuries. She is particularly associated with the works of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and has found particular success in portraying princesses, noble countesses and other similar characters on stage.

Although she now only rarely sings in operas, Te Kanawa still frequently performs in concert and recital, while giving masterclasses and supporting young opera singers in launching their careers.

Personal life

Te Kanawa was born as Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in Gisborne on New Zealand's North Island. She has MÄ?ori and European ancestry, but little is known about her birth parents, as she was adopted as an infant by Thomas Te Kanawa, a MÄ?ori, and his wife, Nell. She was educated at Saint Mary's College Auckland and formally trained in operatic singing by Dame Sister Mary Leo, DBE, RSM. Te Kanawa began her singing career as a mezzo-soprano, but later developed into a soprano. Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Strauss operetta Casanova was New Zealand's first gold record.

Te Kanawa

There are at least four different people called Te Kanawa.

Te Kanawa, ancestor of NgÄ?ti Te Kanawa

One is the ancestor of the NgÄ?ti Te Kanawa iwi of the Tainui confederation of iwi. He was born before 1700 and lived in Hangatiki.

Te Kanawa of NgÄ?ti Maniapoto

Another was a chief of the NgÄ?ti Maniapoto, another Tainui iwi. He was alive in the early 19th century. Te Kanawa was a warlord of Maniapoto; he settled disputes with a taiaha within Tainui or outside Tainui. Some of these disputes were boundary disputes, hence the NgÄ?ti Hari connection. The boundary line between TÅ«wharetoa and Maniapoto and the marae Hia Kaitupeka by Taumarunui. He is represented by an amo on their carved meeting house.

Te Kanawa of Ngati Katoa

Another was a chief of the NgÄ?ti Katoa. He was killed in the campaign known as Putu-karekare (or Patu-karekare, or Te Karekaernga), which was fought at Kawhia in the time when NgÄ?ti Katoa were the tangata whenua. This was before Te Rauparaha had left Kawhia around 1820.