Life of Mozart

——FIGARO.^yideas are afterwards made use of to express real emotion doesno injury to the truth of his characterisation. In a similarway the expression of sentiment is exaggerated when it isrepresented as feigned; as, for instance, the last finale, whenFigaro makes love to the supposed Countess, whom he hasrecognised as Susanna, and grows more and more vehementin order to excite the Count's jealousy. Here we have aparody of the accents of strongest passion (Vol. II., p. 427).How differently does the same Figaro express his true feelings! How simple and genuine is the expression of his lovein the first duet (Act I., i), when he interrupts his measurementsto exclaim to his pretty bride, with heartfelt joy ": Si,mio core, or e piu hello! " and in the last finale, when he putsan end to pretence and, in an exalted mood, with the feelingof his newly won, safely assured happiness fresh upon him,exclaims: "Pace! pace, mio dolce tesoro!" Equally trueis Figaro's expression of the jealousy which results from hislove. At first indeed this feeling is a curiously mingled one.Warned by Susanna herself, he has full confidence in her,and feels all his intellectual superiority to the Count ; hecontemplates his situation with a humour which is admirablyrendered in the celebrated cavatina (Act I., 3). Cheerfullyas it begins, the expression of superciliousness and versatilityhas a tinge of bitterness and resentment, betraying hownearly he is touched by the affair which he affects to treat solightly. Afterwards, when he believes himself deceived,grief and anger are strongly expressed in the recitative precedinghis air (Act IV., 4). But his originality asserts itselfeven here. The consciousness of what his situation has ofthe ludicrous never forsakes him, and his anger against thewhole female sex, which he works up more and more, involuntarilyassumes a comic character. Here we have one of themany points which Mozart added to the text. The somewhatunflattering description of womankind runsQueste chiamate deeSon streghe che incantano per farci penar,Sirene che cantano per farci affogar,Civette che allettano per trarci le piume,Comete che brillano per toglierci il lume