Le nozze di Figaro

'La folle journée ou La mariage de Figaro' is the title of a stage play by Pierre Augustin Caron, called Beaumarchais, which caused a sensation in Paris at the beginning of the 1780s. In this 'sequel' of 'The Barber of Seville', Beaumarchais zeroed in on numerous deplorable circumstances in absolutist France. Admittedly, Mozart's librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte could not adopt the subject matter for an opera that was to be performed at a house under the control of the Austrian Emperor with all its acerbity, but he managed to write a sparkling libretto which was crested by Mozart's incomparable music.

Apart from the libretto, this edition contains introductory commentaries of Kurt Pahlen who also adds information on the compositional structure and context to the musical as well as external and internal dramatic action of the opera. A short synopsis and a brief outline of the genesis bring the work into relation with the composer's entire oeuvre and life, thus offering a comprehensive, richly illustrated introduction.