Bartolo joins her cause, longing to avenge himself for Figaro’s past offenses (Aria: La vendetta).
Eager to marry Figaro herself, Marcellina hopes to enforce the terms of an unpaid loan she had made to him. Marcellina and Bartolo plot to prevent Figaro’s marriage. If the Count wants to dance, he, Figaro, will call the tune (Cavatina: S e vuol ballare). Figaro’s satisfaction with their future quarters turns to apprehension upon hearing from Susanna that the Count has offered them the apartment next to his own, making it easier to press his unwelcome attentions on Susanna (Duettino: Se a caso madama). As such, Beaumarchais presages the tumultuous events of 1789, the year that brought the French Revolution and the downfall of France's established class system.It is the wedding day of Figaro, Count Almaviva’s valet, and Susanna, the Countess’s maid. The triumph of Figaro, valet to a nobleman, signifies the victory of ability over birthright. It is a play in which the aristocracy face their impending decline. However, the play also holds an important place in the development of French theatre. The Marriage of Figaro deserves praise for its important social messages, its subtle wit, comic mastery, and vivacious dialogue many scholars believe that this play is Beaumarchais's masterpiece.
The aristocracy who made up the play's appreciative audience understood its subversive nature, yet continued to attend showings in record numbers. In its questioning of France's longstanding social class system, which stood as the very basis of France's governing body, it was also revolutionary.
The comedy was scandalous in its depiction of a pleasure-seeking, incompetent nobleman who is upstaged by his crafty, quick-witted servant in their quest for the same woman. The official French censors, as well as King Louis XVI, opposed the play. Beaumarchais faced many obstacles in producing his comedy. Completed in 1780, the play would not be acted on the French stage until 1784. Like its author, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro had a long, illustrious history.
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