If he were to approve this play, he might as well tear down the Bastille – so said King Louis XVI when he was presented with Le mariage de Figaro by the Enlightenment thinker Beaumarchais. Prophetic words just a few years before the French Revolution. Yet no ban could prevent the highly topical work from spreading rapidly. The story, in which everyone rebels against the tyrannical rule of a patriarch, struck a chord with the times. With Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte created a timeless social study in which humour and social criticism are perfectly balanced. Götz Friedrich’s production focuses on the turbulent interpersonal dynamics, thus creating the ideal platform to showcase the enthusiastic performances of the ensemble members and guest artists. As a preview to his new production of Così fan tutte, Riccardo Minasi is conducting this revival with Maria Bengtsson as the Countess and the two young French performers Florian Sempey as the Count and Adèle Charvet as Cherubino.