A giant wedding cake will serve as a metaphor for the pyramidal structure of social classes in the four performances of *The Marriage of Figaro*, Mozart’s comic opera, which will be staged at the Tenerife Auditorium in a co-production with the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
It is a way of bringing to the stage Mozart’s references to the abuse of power and how privileges overlap, something that is also entirely relevant today, as José Luis Rivero, artistic director of the Tenerife Auditorium, pointed out on Tuesday during the presentation of the work, which opens the season ticket season.
In this enormous wedding cake, the layers represent social classes, emphasising the message of this opera, with performances scheduled for this Sunday, 13, 15 and 17 October, in a production with Pablo González as musical director and Marta Pazos as stage director.
Tenerife: Cultural figures and a conductor pay tribute to Mozart's opera
For José Carlos Acha, the Councillor for Culture, Museums and Sport at the Tenerife Island Council, this is an exciting proposal «for a sumptuous opera, on this occasion, in every sense of the word».
Pablo González, principal guest conductor of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, has remarked that this opera brings together the genius of Mozart and that of Da Ponte, the librettist, in a perfect symbiosis of music and text that results in one of the greatest scores in the history of music.
Marta Pazos explores class differences and strong women
For her part, set designer Marta Pazos has explained that this is the result of three years‘ work, during which she sought to recreate the impact the play had on audiences when it first premiered, because it was revolutionary, and, as it is a comedy, «we focus on the unexpected, which is where the laughter comes from».
The director was thinking about «class differences on a wedding day, and that’s where the idea of the wedding cake as a symbol came from: beautiful on the outside, but concealing something sinister within».
Pazos also spoke about the female characters in this opera, «who, far from being victims, are strong and powerful, and shape their own story through sisterhood».
The cast of *Figaro* comprises twelve soloists
As for the soloists who bring the cast to life, dressed as pastries, Susanna will be played by the soprano Leonor Bonilla and Figaro will be brought to life by the baritone Jan Antem, both of whom have long-standing ties with Ópera de Tenerife.
The baritone José Antonio López will play the Count of Almaviva, whilst the Countess will be sung by the Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian. The soprano Rafael Quirant will play Cherubino.
The cast is rounded off by mezzo-soprano Léontine Maridat-Zimmerlin as Marcellina, bass Wojtek Gierlach as Bartolo, tenor David Barrera as Basilio, soprano Ruth González as Barbarina, bass Cristian Díaz as Antonio, tenor Alberto Ballesta as Don Curzio and soprano Arantxa Cooper as the first peasant woman.
«Tenerife stages Mozart's *Figaro* with a huge wedding cake»
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