Fifteen BBCM children (including few teenagers) attended this wonderful performance of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. Here follow their reviews and a postscript by BBCM director Agnes Kory.

Le nozze de Figaro was the best opera I have seen so far. What I really enjoyed about this opera was the story, it was funny. My favourite characters were Figaro, Susanna, Cherubino and Antonio. Figaro made nothing get him down, he was always thinking of ways to trick the others. Susanna loved Figaro so much that she would do anything to help him and others she liked. She was very sensible. I liked when she helped Cherubino hide behind her bed in Act 1 and when she hid in the wardrobe in Act 2. I think Rosina was nice but very unhappy with her husband. Antonio made me laugh because he was always drunk. The singing was beautiful like a choir, even if it was in Italian, but the subtitles were good. Sometimes I got a little confused but I was able to follow the story because I watched the video and studied it with Agnes. The music was wonderful, the conductor and his musicians were the greatest.
I did not see much of Acts 3 and 4 because I fell asleep. It was a very long performance.
Joshua Leonce-Weekes, age 6

This is what I liked about the opera:
I liked the Count, the Countess, Susanna and Figaro because they sang very nicely.
I liked it when Susanna played the guitar and Cherubino was singing.
I liked that the opera was sung in the original Italian.
I liked the way the orchestra sometimes played loudly and sometimes softly.
My favourite part was when they gave a letter to the Count because everything turned out well.
I liked how the rooms were moving on the stage.
I had a good seat because I could see and hear everything very well.
And I liked the chocolate ice cream.
Kata Oldland, age 6

I liked the scene when Figaro and Susanna got married because the music was cheerful. I thought Cherubino’s acting was fantastic. But the story was quite complicated for me, so I did not understand it very much. But it seemed a funny story and I enjoyed the music throughout the opera.
Miteki Ochi, age 7

In most of the Royal Opera House school matinees Agnes's group has been in the same places, which I think is nice. Figaro is one of the funniest characters but so is Susanna. Figaro is funny because of how he sings and acts. Susanna is funny because of how she tricks and sings. I liked the wedding music best because it was quick and cheerful. I think that Figaro and Susanna were the best singers because they could sing high and low.
Kay Howard-Shigeno, age 7

I liked the shiny glistening white building where the opera was held. Our seats were velvet and red and had a wonderful view of the Marriage of Figaro. The seats were warm and cosy.
Suddenly the theatre went dark and the curtains zoomed open. They showed us a picture of Susanna and Figaro's house. It looked like a garage with a bed inside.
The singers started singing. I liked the way some people had higher voices, some people had lower voices and some people had middle voices. I liked the music because there were some nice songs.
I liked the story because I could read it on the screen up above. It was about marriage and everyone wanted to marry Susanna but she just wanted to marry Figaro.
At the end sparkling stuff fell down from the ceiling. It was very pretty. Susanna sang and danced with Figaro. Figaro's mum and dad also got married.
Hollie Gold, age 7

On Friday 16 June 2006 I went to the Royal Opera House to see Le nozze di Figaro - an opera with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte - with my teacher Agnes Kory and with other BBCM students. My favourite part was in the Act 4 when Barbarina was looking for the pin that she has lost in the garden. My favourite character is Cherubino when he sings "Non sò più cosa son" (I don’t know where I am) and when the Countess Almaviva and Susanna disguise Cherubino like a woman. I like the colours blue and white of the maids’ costumes. Thanks to the Royal Opera House for this wonderful opportunity and to my teacher who organized that.
Anna Medeossi, age 8

The Marriage of Figaro is an opera about Figaro getting married. In this production, Figaro's room was very dusty. I think this was because it was very old and because no-one had cleaned it for a long time. I liked the way it folded out into a garden for the final scenes. I enjoyed the music and the singing but I didn't understand all that the singing was about, especially the part about a pin. I couldn't pay much attention to the acting because I was too busy reading the surtitles, but I liked it when Cherubino dressed up as a woman. It was funny to see a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. I hope she didn't get too confused. I also liked the ending because the opera was very long and I was very pleased for it to end.
Sam Hope, age 9

This performance was fantastic. I liked it a lot. The acting was amazing. This time I felt more schools were quiet, so it was much easier to listen and to concentrate. The place we got this time was very good like the other times we went. I liked Susanna most because she was quite good at singing and was good at acting at the same time. The best parts of the opera were when Cherubino (a lady singer but a boy character) dressed up as a lady, and when everyone was tricking each other at the end. I enjoyed this opera and would like to thank Agnes for taking us.
May Howard-Shigeno, age 10

Overall, I thought this was a wonderful show with lovely music. In particular I liked Cherubino being a woman as a boy dressing up as a girl. This seemed very funny to me. She/he acted it so well. I also recognised the famous song – Non sò più– from listening to it beforehand.
Generally, I preferred the outdoor scenes because the trees looked so realistic. I liked it when everybody was dancing outside. It was clever the way they could make it seem day or night using lights to create the effect. The costumes were splendid, especially the ladies’ dresses with frothy sleeves. The men’s suits looked smart with waistcoats and long jackets or tail coats. Not too many stockings!
Although it wasn’t as exciting as Maskarade and Macbeth, it was well worth seeing. Thank you for the opportunity.
Otto Saner, age 10

I did not really enjoy the whole play, maybe because it was a bit too long. It wasn’t really colourful but the scenery was very good. I also enjoyed the costumes because they were very similar to the real old clothes that these people wore at that time. I liked the fact that in Figaro’s room there would be a mess and that it was quite dark. The singing was very good but sometimes it could slightly hurt my ears because they would literally scream as loud as they can and I was sometimes quite amazed that it would still go with the music. I did enjoy the music and sometimes it could be louder than the singing.
Oscar Blouin-Cook, age 11

The Marriage of Figaro is about four main characters: Figaro the Count’s servant; Susanna his virtuous fiancé; the lecherous Count Almaviva and his wife the Countess.
My favourite opera singers were Susanna and the Countess because they did really well as they had a lot to sing. Susanna was very impressive when she was singing the song about why they were given a room so close to the Count and Countess. She really hit the high notes. Also Sophie Koch played Cheubino very well as she was playing a boy in the opera. The opera was well directed as the story was easy to follow and all the actions fitted well with the songs. It was also well cast as everyone sung beautifully in tune. The piece of music I will remember the most would be the beginning because it was a catchy tune with the little bell ringing and the singers echoing the sound.
Thank you for taking me to the Marriage of Figaro. It was a very memorable opera.
Akira Leyow, age 11

I greatly enjoyed Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. It was amazing to be present at such a prestigious performance. It goes without saying that Mozart's score is an outstanding piece of music and I feel that the Royal Opera certainly did it justice. The singing was clear and perfectly in tune, however what made it more enjoyable was the way in which the singers seemed to be really enjoying themselves, clearly evident from their performance, along with the artistic interpretation, which was spectacular and uplifting. The set not only added a sense of place, period and backdrop to the wonderful music, but was also cleverly put together so as not do detract from the opera itself and to allow a smooth running throughout the performance. All in all, a wonderfully enjoyable afternoon!
Matthew Gold, age 16

We both really enjoyed the performance of The Marriage of Figaro. Mira says: I like the story, and the fact that I’d studied it helped me follow what was going on. I felt the production was a clear and good portrayal of the plot. What stood out for me was the Garden Scene because it was fun and active, sneaky and funny. In the scene in the servants’ quarters, I found it amusing watching all the characters switch places to hide as another person came in, and note that the audience had a different viewpoint from the other people actually in the room onstage.
I liked all the music I had heard being put into action, so to speak, and could appreciate it much more as a result of going through it with Agnes and also with my Dad. I had also listened to a recording of another production with Agnes beforehand. Mozart’s music reflects the mood of the moment. An example of this comes in Cherubino’s song when he is singing about how every woman turns him on; the music sounds like his heart is fluttering and he is panting. Another example is the letter-writing duet, when the Countess dictates to Susanna, and so Susanna, as she ‘writes’, repeats what the Countess has sung. All the singers were excellent, which helped, of course!
Mira feels that the surtitles were good and helpful, although they weren’t always clear. ‘Sometimes when the singers repeated what they had just said, the screen remained blank, and at other times it actually missed out some of the translation, so I got a bit confused. I prefer this situation, though, preserving the language in which the opera was written, rather than switching to the local language – it gives you a chance to hear how it sounds in its original form. In any case, it’s not always easy to translate into the local language as the words don’t easily match the music, so either you have to alter the music, or, to fit it, create sentences which land up sounding ridiculous.’ Costume was good, reflective of the actual olden-day dress code, so it kept you aware that the opera was set in earlier times. Mira had previously thought that servants wouldn’t be so dressed-up in such a fancy way, even though they were servants of a wealthy family.
Things in the scenery that stood out for us were the set for the servants’ quarters, which was inventive and impressive, every last detail being there, and the Garden Scene set which, being so crowded, worked very well, especially as a hiding place for the various characters. The Countess’s bedroom, on the other hand, was a bit sparse – it was a bit boring and should have had more colour and character. The immensity of the double door seemed a bit extreme, both on its own and in relation to the rest of the bedroom.
The lighting was artistic, and very effective. The opening of the shutters over the windows during the overture was like a grand opening for the opera. It was lovely throughout the opera seeing the light coming through the windows. Unusually, the director had made a whole scene out of the overture, with the servants bustling about in the ‘public’ places of the household, matching their actions to the music.
Mira feels that the translator for deaf people is an excellent idea. ‘She was clear and graceful, and she was subtle, so she didn’t distract us from the opera onstage.’
It was a terrific experience being able to attend this performance. Thank you, BBCM and Royal Opera House!
Mira Lazarus (age 14) and Ilan Lazarus (age 18)

Blending two acts into one can be tough go for the audience, especially if they are young children. We had 97 minutes of opera before the interval and 76 minutes afterwards. Time did not seem to matter when I attended the earlier dress rehearsal and later an evening performance. But during this school matinee the length was definitely a problem. The performance was breathtaking. The singing was impeccable, the stage direction innovative and thoughtful, conductor Sir Colin Davis cared about every note and every phrase. He created spacious beauty which was both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time.
The staging started with an unknown servant cleaning the floor centre stage. The opera finished with the same unknown servant centre stage again. Stage director’s David McVicars’ message (to me, at least) is that Figaro and Susanna are not the only servants to call the tune or, indeed, to keep the world going. Perpetu mobile.
Agnes Kory