The Marriage of Figaro Reduced Orchestration
The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
VERSION A: Reduced Orchestration: 1111 1000 11111 timpani(opt)
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Timpani (optional)
This reduced orchestration of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is aimed for performance using ten players. However, the number of string players can be increased, and Mozart’s original timpani part is also available.
This orchestral reduction is complete and includes all the music from the opera. The score and parts have bar numbers.
This arrangement has been performed throughout the UK and in Austria, Sweden, Japan, Canada and across the USA. It was performed by Opera Holland Park, UK, in 2021.
VERSION B: Reduced Orchestration: 1121 21(opt)00 stgs timpani(opt)
Flute, Oboe, 2 x Clarinets, Bassoon, 2 x Horns, Trumpet (optional), Strings, Timpani (optional)
Version B is for a slightly larger orchestra. It is aimed for a medium sized string section, though a single string quintet could still be used. The trumpet part is optional and Mozart’s original timpani part is also available.
This orchestral reduction is complete and includes all the music from the opera. The score and parts have bar numbers. This arrangement was created in 2015 for West Green House Opera in the UK and has since received performances in both the UK and USA. It was performed again at West Green House Opera in 2022.
A reduced orchestration that manages astonishing authenticity… Mozart’s exquisite music shines through, as if we were listening to one of his enchanting wind divertimenti or serenades, alongside a string quintet… something distilled and refined, much as might happen in the imagined alchemical reduction of metals into gold…”
From the first notes of the overture it is clear that musically all will be well. Conductor Jonathan Lyness is responsible for the reduced orchestration that enables his ten musicians to deliver a version of Mozart’s score that retains the varied colour and spirited inventiveness of the original…”
Impressive is the work of the City of London Sinfonia, just 18 in number on this occasion, and playing a skilful reduction of the score by Jonathan Lyness”
David Aronson conducts the Teatro Barocco Chamber Orchestra with period instruments. Jonathan Lyness’s chamber version fits the acoustics of the small baroque theatre perfectly and Aronson ensures homogeneity in the overall sound”
The list for the small orchestra playing on old or historically inspired instruments is short. Only the violin is present twice; all other string and wind instruments and timpani are only represented once. The resulting sound is astounding.”
For information or to hire either of these reduced orchestrations of The Marriage of Figaro, please contact us