Review: The Marriage of Figaro

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

"In my opinion, each number in Figaro is a miracle. It is totally beyond me how anyone could create anything so perfect. Nothing like it was ever done again, not even by Beethoven." That was the verdict of Johannes Brahms.

Since its first performance 234 years ago, Mozart's masterpiece has become a staple for opera companies around the world - with motifs instantly recognisable to audiences.

The irrepressible servant Figaro, his virtuous beloved Susanna, and the dastardly Count Almaviva trace their origins to an 18th Century play with an incendiary critique of the ruling class and their abuse of power.

But thanks to Mozart's collaboration with librettist and disgraced Catholic priest Lorenzo da Ponte (once accused of 'organising the