He jealously demands entry into the locked inner room where Cherubino is hiding, but the Countess refuses to open it, claiming Susanna is inside trying on her wedding dress. Noticing the Countess’s agitation, Almaviva is instantly suspicious. Having locked the door, they have time to hide Cherubino and Susanna when Almaviva unexpectedly arrives to speak with his wife about the letter from Basilio, written and planted by Figaro. Cherubino enters with a song of love for the Countess and a commission letter that the Count forgot to seal, and is taken aback when the women begin to undress him. At the same time, Susanna will set up a rendezvous with Almaviva, but will send a disguised Cherubino in her place. Susanna tells the Countess that she and Figaro have a plan: Almaviva will receive a letter from Basilio informing him that his wife has taken up a lover. The Countess believes her husband no longer loves her, while Susanna wants him to leave her alone. In Countess Rosina’s chambers, the Countess grieves for the loss of her husband’s love and attention, and she and Susanna discuss Count Almaviva’s roving eye. He asks the Count to join him and Susanna in marriage. Figaro returns, accompanied by festive townspeople. He vows to get rid of the lad by giving him a military commission. Almaviva is fuming, as Cherubino has overheard him propositioning Susanna. As he does, Almaviva discovers a hiding Cherubino. He states that he is sending Cherubino away, and relates the scene in the gardener’s daughter’s chambers. In a rage, the Count reveals himself to an amused Basilio. It’s Don Basilio, the music teacher, who references Cherubino’s supposed crush on the Countess. The Count himself is forced to hide when yet another voice is heard at the door. Cherubino hides while Almaviva attempts to set up a tryst with Susanna. Before Susanna can offer advice, they are interrupted by the arrival of Almaviva himself. He is besotted by all women, he explains, and cannot help himself. Count Almaviva caught him alone with the gardener’s daughter, Barbarina, and he is now to be sent away.
Cherubino, a young page, enters, seeking advice from Susanna.
Marcellina and Susanna are sarcastically polite with one another until Marcellina and Bartolo leave. Marcellina is angry at Susanna for stealing Figaro away from her, while Bartolo is angry at Figaro for making a fool of him in the past. Once Figaro leaves, Doctor Bartolo and Marcellina enter. She explains to Figaro that Almaviva is pursuing her. He measures a room for a bed, but Susanna is concerned that the room is too close to the Count’s chamber. Figaro, servant to Count Almaviva, is about to marry Susanna, the Countess’s maid.
0 kommentar(er)
