Despite the rather old-fashioned German romantic approach that Böhm takes to the music, this is certainly the most satisfactory recording, with a stellar cast, of the opera. I thought that Maria Ewing was especially convincing as the boy Cherubino and Fischer-Dieskau, Prey, Freni and Te Kanawa both sang and acted beautifully. If you prefer a modern musicological approach, then try elsewhere but for a cast of stars near their peak, this is the one.

But I am reminded by another review, that there is one annoying feature of this film: this is the tendency to make everything more "realistic" by having the characters keep their mouths closed while their pre-recorded voices continue to sing. I find this unconvincing and I think the director should have accepted the fact that singing in real situations is not realistic.

Forget realism; this is opera!

8-10

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, production designer of 1972's "Barbiere di Siviglia," takes the director's chair this time and does a bravura job. Whereas the Barber started with an film of (a surprisingly young) Claudio Abbado conducting the overture, "Figaro" begins with action. It's not heavy action, but it does avoid the static beginning of "Barber".

Herman Prey has a return engagement as Figaro. Paolo Montarsolo also returns from Barber's cast, only this time as Bartolo rather than Basilio. Adding Mirella Freni as Susanna, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Almaviva, Kiri Te Kanawa as the Contessa and Maria Ewing filling out her trousers well as Cherubino, Ponnelle presents us with nearly an all-star cast.

"Figaro" is slightly more daunting, not only because of its length (like the Emperor in "Amadeus" one is tempted to yawn during the last act),but also because of the recitatives. The major singing is done to playback, which gives the singers a chance to act. Ponnelle plays with the playback, sometimes playing it while the singers aren't singing so it appears to be going on in their heads. This is effective once you're used to it, but in early scenes with Cherubino it unfortunately has the appearance of carelessness on Ewing's part, which it is not.

All the big hits from the show are here, some with superb staging. Figaro's "Se vuol ballare, Signor Contino" is very effective. The delightful "Non piú andrai" is a bit dizzying as Figaro sings directly into the camera with the background whirling behind him, but it does emphasize Cherubino's growing panic.

Ponelle went on to do a wonderful movie of Rossini's "Cenerentola," which may be the finest opera movie ever. But his "Figaro" deserves a peek from any opera lover.

I have never been much of an opera fan, but it is hard to resist the appeal of this film. The cast is top rate and the production values are of equal quality. The sets and costumes are done with obvious care and add much to the overall effect. And who could not be in thrall to such beautiful women with such beautiful voices?

If the somewhat inane story of accidental eaves-droppings, deceptions, jealousies, characters hiding under beds and in closets, mistaken identities, and so forth gets to be a bit much, you can always close your eyes and just listen to the music--you never have to wait long for an outstanding aria or duet. And, given that this is advertised as a comic opera, I suppose you can't complain too much about its situation comedy tendencies. There *is* some serious commentary about the relationships between classes, e.g. one theme is whether Count Almaviva has the right to sleep with his servant Susanna on her wedding day to Figaro.

As has been mentioned, the lip-syncing is sometimes off putting, particularly when the characters remain mute while the vocal soundtrack continues, representing their thinking. And I found the extreme close-ups a bit distracting.

At three hours and twenty minutes this requires some stamina to watch in one sitting. It makes you appreciate the stamina required of performers who do this live.

The "Countess, forgive me" scene at the end has to be one of the most elegantly staged scenes of pure beauty ever recorded on film.