The Marriage of Figaro by WA Opera

Sex. Secret liaisons. Cross dressing. Just another Saturday night at the opera.

The Marriage of Figaro, performed by WA Opera, is a hilarious comedic opera. The plotline is slightly complicated and reminiscent of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream due to its scheming lovers.

Basically Figaro and Susanna are set to be married, yet their employer Count Almaviva has decided to intervene and seduce Susanna - despite the fact that he is already married to Countess Rosina. Yet the Count is jealous of the young page, Cherubino, who has a crush on the Countess and forces him to join a military regiment in Selville. Figaro, Susanna and the Countess conspire to expose the Count's infidelity. There are also many cases of mistaken identity in between the farcical set of events.

I don't blame the little girl sitting in front of me needing a running commentary from her mother. But once you've got the characters straight, you can begin to enjoy the beautiful arias.

Sara Maciver as Susanna and Zoe Kikiros as Rosina share many poignant scenes together as they lament the pitfalls of loving a man. I really enjoyed their harmonies.

Also commanding an impressive stage presence is Luke Gabbedy as the Count. His first appearance onstage in a dressing gown with chest bared gets a welcome reception from the females in the audience.

But the stand out performance is Fiona Campbell as Cherubino. The flirtatious page boy swoons over the Countess but falls apart when he is sent away to the regiment. Cherubino is so adorable that you forgive him for his youthful naivete. My favourite piece was the aria dedicated to the Countess: Voi che sapete che cosa é amor — "You ladies who know what love is, see if I have it in my heart".

Last year I saw The Barber of Selville, which was my first operatic experience, and I found it easier to appreciate the sequel The Marriage of Figaro. Yes it is an accessible opera and attracted many people to go see it. However judging from the mixed audience of old and young I think opera has been grossly underrated. Opera is sexy after all!