I remember a time when I would shudder at the word Opera. It was a funny stage in my life when I wasn't sure about much but knew I loved piano music and Beethoven.

Opera still seemed as such a boring type of music, maybe it was to do with all the stereotypical TV shows I watched pitting opera as boring, and tiring. While I'll admit some operas still do that to me, especially if in a different tongue but in comparison, I once felt the same about the Symphony, so you can imagine the changes that occurred.

Appreciation for opera is still growing with me, the opera featured here is what sort of started that trend. Written in 1786, Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 (Translated as "The Marriage of Figaro" or "Day of Madness") is one of Mozart's most famous operas. It was based on a 1784 stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro.

The play itself was banned in Vienna because of its satire of the aristocracy but the opera has since become a pillar in Mozart's career and a cornerstone of the standard operatic repertoire as one of the most frequently performed operas today. In fact, the music faculty at my university last winter performed this work, it was an excellent production.

Scenes from the opera follow:

Cinque... dieci... venti... trenta...

First duetto between Susanna and Figaro in act one

Via, resti servita

Duetto from Act I between Susanna and Marcellina

Ah! Signor...signor

finale to Act II

Non piu andrai

Figaro's second aria

Non la trovo - Gente, gente all'armi

Final scene

Having seen this work in English makes it mildly more understandable compared to the Italian in the videos above, but the music still speaks for itself.