Show Plot Marriage of Figaro

Authors: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte based on the play La Folle Journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro by Pierre Beaumarchais.

Time Period: Late 18th century

Setting:  Aguas Frescas, a country estate belonging to Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain

Summary:  The story follows servants Figaro and Susanna as they outwit their philandering master, Count Almaviva.  Figaro discovers that Count Almaviva intends to revive droit du seigneur—an old feudal right allowing a master to sleep with a maid before her wedding.  Meanwhile, the page, Cherubino, is caught flirting and is ordered into the army, and Dr. Bartolo and Marcellina plot to force Figaro to marry Marcellina instead, due to an unpaid debt.  The Countess and Susanna plot revenge against the Count's jealousy.  A series of clothing swaps and mistaken identities unfold, ending with the Count begging for forgiveness, and the Countess graciously pardoning him as the entire household rejoices.