The Munich Chamber Opera waited a long time before daring to do Mozart’s “Le nozze die Figaro”, the respect for this work was too great. But that didn’t have to be the case, as you can see now. Because now the piece is called “The Marriage of Figaro” because it is sung in German, it’s about 40 minutes shorter than the original, which Mozart would have been happy about, and the performance is a lot of fun.
This is primarily due to the subtle arrangement by Alexander Krampe, who stays very close to Mozart when setting up the score for the small orchestra. He cuts surgically in many places, for at least two acts you couldn’t tell where he did it, except that you’re amazed at how quickly the plot suddenly abruptly abated. Johanna Soller conducts the orchestra with the greatest care for the singers, at times one almost has the impression that one is experiencing drama with music here, one understands the text very well, the music wraps itself around the words in many flourishes. In addition, everyone acts cheerfully and without much ado, the direction of Maximilian Berling forces direct play. However, one should not approach the performance with psychology, nor with the consideration of what kind of evil ruler the Count might be. Because he’s not here. Not a ruler and not evil, but rather a great cherub in the form of Jonas Müller (here without the o at the end, there in German), who loves women with a finely smoldering voice, even those whom he should keep his hands off.
Basically, it’s about almost nothing, but that’s great. The young singers of the first of two casts shine. Johanna Beier (Countess): touching power. Elisabeth Freyhoff (Susanna): hymnic timbre. The duet recitatives of the two are a sonic wonder. Tabea Mitterbauer is a glowing cherub, Nina Schumertl a glowing Marcelina and Linus Mödl a magnificent Figaro, with power and poetry.