Almost exactly one year after I heard Claus Guth’s Figaro in Salzburg, I had the chance to hear that same production again yesterday (again in the Orchesterhauptprobe). The impression it made on me was even better than last July. It’s a very intelligent staging and the cast consists of truly great singers, amongst them Gerald Finley (Almaviva), Dorothea Röschmann (Contessa), Diana Damrau (Susanna), Luca Pisaroni (Figaro), and Martina Janková (Cherubino) who has the thankless task of following last year’s spectacular performance of Christine Schäfer.

Here are two short videos I found on YouTube of the 2006 performance. You can (and should!) buy a DVD of this wonderful performance. Check it out at http://shop.salzburgfestival.com