The original libretto (text) of the opera was written by [Lorenzo da
Ponte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Da_Ponte) , based on a play by
[Pierre-Augustin Caron de
Beaumarchais](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Beaumarchais). _The
Marriage of Figaro_ (_Le mariage de Figaro_) is the second in the Figaro
trilogy of plays by Beaumarchais, the others being [ _The Barber of
Seville_](https://www.eno.org/operas/the-barber-of-seville/) and _La mère
coupable._

Written in 1778, just years before the French Revolution, the play reflected
the growing dissatisfaction with the ruling class and was considered
scandalous at the time due to its depiction of an incompetent and hedonistic
nobleman being outwitted by his servant.

Public performances of the play were prevented by King Louis XVI and the
French censors, so by the time it was finally staged in 1784 it had acquired
huge notoriety. The unprecedented success of the play was seen as a rebuff to
the king and the comments of the revolutionary generation only added to the
myth of the play’s incendiary qualities.

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://www.eno.org/composers/wolfgang-amadeus-
mozart/) and Lorenzo da Ponte toned down the political passages of the play,
creating a light comic opera about love and forgiveness. Nevertheless, for
18th century audiences, seeing a modern play turned into an opera would have
been radical.

The location of the action in a chateau near Seville was only the thinnest of
disguises for contemporary France. Such a setting, if not unusual in a comedy
was virtually unprecedented in opera, where the long standing convention was
to place the action in remote and exotic settings. Placing the action in the
immediate world of its audience was a provocation and was intended to shock.

The opera was first performed in Vienna in 1786. Mozart was a prolific writer
and talented musician who wrote his earliest compositions at the age of 5.

At his death at the early age of 35, Mozart had written over 600 works,
including the operas [ _Don Giovanni_ ](https://www.eno.org/operas/don-
giovanni/)(1787), [ _Cosi fan tutte_](https://www.eno.org/operas/cosi-fan-
tutte/) (1789) and [ _The Magic Flute_](https://www.eno.org/operas/the-magic-
flute/) (1791).

_The Marriage of Figaro_ is at once the funniest and most poignant of musical
comedies. Mozart uses music to take possession of the dramatic situations. His
music charts each character’s changing emotions and response to the action
around them. The music is alive with this sense of discovery. Mozart revels in
his mastery of the comic style, opening his overture with a seven bar phrase ,
rather than the conventional four or eight bars. In his scenes, seemingly
commonplace musical figures take on ever-changing colours and moods in
response to the text.

[Continue to the listening guide](https://www.eno.org/discover-
opera/operas/explore-marriage-figaro/listening-guide/)