The Marriage of Figaro ( ("The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro")) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais. This play is the second in the Figaro trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother.Wood, pp. 26–33

In the first play, The Barber, the story begins with a simple love triangle in which a Spanish count has fallen in love with a girl called Rosine. He disguises himself to ensure that she will love him back for his character, not his wealth. But this is all foiled when Rosine's guardian, Doctor Bartholo, who wants her hand in marriage, confines her to the house. The Count runs into an ex-servant of his (now a barber), Figaro, and pressures him into setting up a meeting between the Count and Rosine. He succeeds and the lovers are married to end the first part of the trilogy.

The Marriage was written as a sequel to The Barber. In his preface to the play, Beaumarchais says that Louis François, Prince of Conti, had requested it. The play's denunciation of aristocratic privilege has been characterised as foreshadowing the French Revolution.Fehér, p. 40 The revolutionary leader Georges Danton said that the play "killed off the nobility"; in exile, Napoleon Bonaparte called it "the Revolution already put into action."Las Cases, p. 55

Thanks to the great popularity of its predecessor, The Marriage of Figaro opened to enormous success; it was said to have grossed 100,000 francs in the first twenty showings,Nagler, p. 339 and the theatre was so packed that three people were reportedly crushed to death in the opening-night crowd.John, p. 11

The play formed the basis for an opera with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte and music by Mozart, also called The Marriage of Figaro (1786). In 1799, another opera based on the same play, La pazza giornata, ovvero Il matrimonio di Figaro, was produced in Venice with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi and music by Marcos Portugal.

Summary The Marriage of Figaro picks up three years following the end of The Barber of Seville as Figaro is engaged to be married to Suzanne; both characters are among the Count's staff in his household. In the three years since Figaro helped forge the marriage of the Count and Rosine, the Count has already grown bored with his marriage and is taking notice of Suzanne. The Count looks to re-engage the act of primae noctis, in which he would consummate the marriage with the bride-to-be prior to Figaro's honeymoon.

Production history The scholar and translator John Wood writes that the play was probably completed in more or less its existing form by 1778.Wood, p. 22 It was accepted for production by the management of the Comédie Française in 1781, after which three years elapsed before it was publicly staged. Initially the text was approved, with minor changes, by the official censor, but at a private reading before the French court the play so shocked King Louis XVI that he forbade its public presentation.Wood, pp. 22–23 Beaumarchais revised the text, moving the action from France to Spain, and after further scrutiny by the censor the piece was played to an audience including members of the Royal Family in September 1783. The censors still refused to license the play for public performance, but the king personally authorised its production.

Under the title of La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro, the play opened at the Théâtre Français on 27 April 1784 and ran for 68 consecutive performances, earning higher box-office receipts than any other French play of the eighteenth century.Wood, p. 23 The author gave his share of the profits to charity.

The play was translated into English by Thomas Holcroft, and under the title of The Follies of a Day – Or The Marriage of Figaro it was produced at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London in late 1784 and early 1785.Advertisement, The Daily Universal Register, 1 January 1795, p. 1 In France the play has held its place in the repertory, and leading companies have played it in the original language to audiences in Europe and America."French Season at Piccadilly", The Times 26 February 1963, p. 14; "Barrault Company Opens Here Feb. 25", The New York Times, 16 January 1964; and "Le Mariage de Figaro", The Times, 4 October 1997, p. 38 In 1960 a Comédie Française production was filmed, under the direction of Jean Mayer, with Jean Piat as Figaro."Figaro Recovers its Message.", The Times, 21 July 1960, p. 7

In the twentieth century the play continued to be staged in translation by foreign companies. In 1927 Constantin Stanislavski staged the work at the Moscow Art Theatre;Benedetti, pp. 306–08). in 1974 the British National Theatre company presented a version by John Wells, directed by Jonathan Miller.Wardle, Irving. "A comedy which does not dance", The Times 10 July 1974, p. 11

Beaumarchais' comedy was adapted into One Mad Day! a "screwball comedy" in Three Acts by William James Royce. The play premiered at the Norton Clapp Theatre on 24 October 2008. In 1984 BBC Radio 3 broadcast a production of Beaumarchais' play in John Wells's translation;Coward, unnumbered page in December 2010 the same station transmitted a new version, adapted and directed by David Timson."Drama on 3", BBC, retrieved 23 December 2012

Characters

:Count Almaviva, Governor of Andalusia :Countess Rosine, his wife :Figaro, the Count's valet and major-domo; engaged to Suzanne :Suzanne, the Countess' maid; engaged to Figaro :Marceline, the housekeeper; in love with Figaro, unknowingly Figaro's mother :Antonio, gardener of the castle; uncle of Suzanne, father of Fanchette :Fanchette, daughter of Antonio, girlfriend to many :Chérubin, the Count's page, the Countess' godson; in love with every woman :Bartholo, a doctor from Seville; unknowingly Figaro's father :Bazile, music master to the Countess :Don Guzman Brid'oison, a judge. :Doublemain, clerk to Don Guzman Brid'oison :Gripe-Soleil, a shepherd lad :Pedrillo, the Count's huntsman :An usher :A shepherdess :An alguazil :A magistrate :Servants, valets, peasants, and huntsmen

Beaumarchais wrote detailed notes on the characters, printed in the first published text of the play, issued in 1785.Wood, pp. 219–23 The author prescribed that Figaro must be played without any suggestion of caricature; the Count with great dignity yet with grace and affability; the Countess with restrained tenderness; Suzanne as intelligent and lively but without brazen gaiety; Chérubin as a charming young scamp, diffident only in the presence of the Countess. Chérubin is traditionally played as a trouser role by a woman. Beaumarchais said that in the original company, there were no boys available who were both the right age and who could understand all the subtleties of the role: most of the character's comic traits come from the view of an adult looking back on puberty with amusement.Wood, p. 222

The ridiculous character of Don Guzman was a jab at a judge, Louis Valentin Goëzman, whom Beaumarchais had—in vain—tried to bribe once, offering jewels to his wife and money to his secretary. Beaumarchais gained public acclaim for directly challenging the judge in a series of pamphlets collectively published as Mémoires dans l'affaire Goëzman. Beaumarchais was hailed as a hero of the people with the public embarrassment he brought upon Goëzman.Wood, p. 16

Fanchette is around twelve years old. At the time, the age of consent throughout most of Europe was around that same age; hence, the revelation that she and the adult Count are sleeping together was not meant to be quite as shocking as it is often perceived these days.

Synopsis The play is set at the castle of Aguas Frescas, three leagues from Seville.Wood, p. 106

Act I

The play begins in a room in the Count's castle—the bedroom to be shared by Figaro and Suzanne after their wedding, which is set to occur later that day. Suzanne reveals to Figaro her suspicion that the Count gave them this particular room because it is so close to his own, and that the Count has been pressing her to begin an affair with him. Figaro at once goes to work trying to find a solution to this problem. Then Dr. Bartholo and Marceline pass through, discussing a lawsuit they are to file against Figaro, who owes Marceline a good deal of money and has promised to marry her if he fails to repay the sum; his marriage to Suzanne will potentially void the contract. Bartholo relishes the news that Rosine is unhappy in her marriage, and they discuss the expectation that the Count will take Figaro's side in the lawsuit if Suzanne should submit to his advances. Marceline herself is in love with Figaro, and hopes to discourage Suzanne from this.

After a brief confrontation between Marceline and Suzanne, a young pageboy named Chérubin comes to tell Suzanne that he has been dismissed for being caught hiding in the bedroom of Fanchette, the gardener's daughter. The conversation is interrupted by the entrance of the Count, and since Suzanne and Chérubin do not want to be caught alone in a bedroom together, Chérubin hides behind an armchair. When the Count enters, he propositions Suzanne (who continues to refuse to sleep with him). They are then interrupted by Bazile's entrance. Again, not wanting to be found in a bedroom with Suzanne, the Count hides behind the armchair. Chérubin is forced to throw himself on top of the armchair so the Count will not find him, and Suzanne covers him with a dress so Bazile cannot see him. Bazile stands in the doorway and begins to tell Suzanne all the latest gossip. When he mentions a rumour that there is a relationship between the Countess and Chérubin, the Count becomes outraged and stands up, revealing himself. The Count justifies his firing Chérubin to Bazile and the horrified Suzanne (now worried that Bazile will believe that she and the Count are having an affair). The Count re-enacts finding Chérubin behind the door in Fanchette's room by lifting the dress covering Chérubin, accidentally uncovering Chérubin's hiding spot for the second time. The Count is afraid that Chérubin will reveal the earlier conversation in which he was propositioning Suzanne, and so decides to send him away at once as a soldier. Figaro then enters with the Countess, who is still oblivious to her husband's plans. A troupe of wedding guests enters with him, intending to begin the wedding ceremony immediately. The Count is able to persuade them to hold it back a few more hours, giving himself more time to enact his plans.

Act II