Arachnophonia: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Wonyoung (class of 2024) and features Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro. Thanks, Wonyoung!

Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The Marriage of Figaro cover to full score

Most people in the 21st century have forgotten the appeal of classical music. One of these includes operas and arias. A majority of people will have a general idea of Mozart but when asked to identify some of his works, they will only be able to associate him with only pieces that are played by just an orchestra. However, one of Mozart’s most well known works is Le nozze di Figaro.

Le nozze di Figaro is an opera that Mozart composed in 1786. It is rich in storyline with themes such as romance and revenge and as well as humor throughout to keep the audience engaged. With some of the most well known arias for opera singers being from Le nozze di Figaro, it is an opera that is worth looking into.

Opera may seem very dry at first but in reality it is just a play but rather than the dialogue being spoken, it is sung. Le nozze di Figaro is very special to me because it was the first opera I got to see live, but not only that it was performed by my voice teacher in South Korea to whom I credit everything I know how to do today. And so I would like to recommend Le nozze di Figaro from our Music library.