The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro was the largest scale of the first round of WAAPA productions. Performed by WAAPA Classical Voice students, it was accompanied by the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra and predominantly designed and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design Students. It was performed in English.

A sumptuous presentation with high production values, this show had two casts. My review is of the ‘Amadeus’ cast, although some performers appeared in both casts, and I assume that the (uncredited) chorus remained the same.

Musical Director Jessica Gethin conducted the orchestra, which was placed in front of the stage, and provided superb accompaniment.

Elisa Von Perger’s set design included many quirky little details (such as a blackboard wall) but was elegant and folded in surprising ways to create very different, very diverse locations. It was atmospherically lit, from a design by Karen Cook. Ellen Firns’ costume design was gorgeous, appropriate to both era and character, with subtle but effective use of colour.

Sitting comfortably in the title role was Sam Claxton, whose Figaro was of fine voice, and whose characterisation was relaxed and believable. Sophie Coleshill was a delight as fiancé Susanna, clever and vibrant, and singing beautifully, a worthy leading lady.

Devon Lake brought his beautiful full baritone voice and handsome pout to the philandering Count Almaviva, with a good sense of comic timing. His overlooked wife was played with a lovely blend of delicacy and strength by Annie Fang in a captivating performance.

Michelle Pryor’s Marcellina had a lovely journey from villain-of-sorts to heroine, in a very warm, mature performance, nicely supported by Sholto Foss, with lovely bluster as Bartolo. Brittney Northcott was sweet and great fun in the breeches role of Cherubino, with Sarah Gannon making the most of the brief appearances of Barbarina in a refreshing and sparkling performance.

Vin Trikeriots was a solid Basilio, Julian Cope found the comedy in Don Curzio, with Jessica Goodwin nicely completing the Principal Cast. A well-focused ensemble added colour and sang well, also facilitating many of the scene changes.