The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro): Vocal Score
by Ruth and Thomas Martin

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Book Reviews of The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro): Vocal Score

Book Review: Excellent vocal score of this classic opera
Summary: 5 Stars

The orchestral reduction is pretty good, as they go, and remarkably free of the errors many of them are prone to (such as imagining that pianists can stretch two octaves in each hand). The piano part is very playable and is a good representation of the orchetral score.

As for the English translation, it is best used if you want some idea of what the Italian means. If you try to sing it you will end up in fits of giggles, as it plays merry hell with English scansion and is often hilariously phrased. Here, for example, is an extract from "Voi che sapete":

Filled with excitement, walking on air,
First I am happy, then I despair.
Now I am chilly, next time aflame,
Not for a moment am I the same.
I am pursuing some sunny ray,
But it eludes me, try as I may.

Well, that's opera translations for you, they're usually dreadful. If you do want to perform this in English, it's probably worth finding a better one, but most musicians will be after the Italian, so it doesn't matter.

This edition also includes a few pages of introduction and an index. Stage directions are in English, so this is an all-round useful version for rehearsing. I have been happily singing Figaro with my friends ever since being a wench in the chorus seven years ago, and I am sure that this sturdy volume will continue to last me for many more years.

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