“A crazy day", a whirling plot, a boisterous Presto overture. We know and love Mozart's Figaro as a piece with lively tempos. However, if we look at his score a little more carefully, we soon notice significant discrepancies between what he committed to paper and the way in which the work is normally performed nowadays. And if we compare the tempos adopted in modern perlormemces with the original instructions, it becomes apparent that some sections clearly have faster tempo marks, and some slower tempo marks. In discussions with fellow musicians one tends to he told that these indications are simph mistakes. In any case, so the story goes, tempo marks do not convey precise instructions, and are only generalized hints designed to stimulate the intuition of the performer.
The facts are rather different, Mozart’s contemporaries repeatedly noted the importance he attached to the tempos chosen by those who performed his music, and he himself commented on the subject on numerous occasions. Furthermore, his scores are quite precise in this regard. He occasionally alters his tempo marks very slightly (e.g. from Allegro assai to molto Allegro, or from Andantino to Larghetto, etc.), and this makes it possible to see how he arrived at the final version. It also shows the precision with which he defined his intentions, and that he was at pains to be as comprehensible as possible.
Intuition may be one of the most important qualities that a good musician ought to have, but it is no suhbtitute for the facts. One needs to know whether più Andante is faster or slower than Andante, what molto Andante means, and what calando, sotto voce. ad libitum signify. One needs to know the precise meaning of Tempo di Minuetto, whether there are several distinct versions, and if so, how they differ and how they were construed in the past.
I believe that the architecture of Mozart's large-scale works is based on two pillars: the key scheme and the dramaturgical arrangement of the tempos - and I consider the latter to be more important than the former in view of the demise of key characteristics in contemporary musical life. It is noticeable that Mozart's three Da Ponte operas all have sophisticated (though very different) tempo pyramids. For example. in Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni the tempos relate to an axis, the Andante with which both operas begin, and which returns at crucial moments.
The tempo pyramid in Figaro is rather unusual. There are no Largo and Adagio passages (except in bars 92-95 of Cherubinos first aria), and thus the slowest ternpos are Larghetto and Andantino (although the latter is missing in all the editions), in contrast to ttus, Allegro, which occurs so frequently in Mozart. hardly makes an appearance (only in Cherubino's first aria and in the Count's aria), and on top of this is speeded up so that it becomes Allegro vivace or Allegro assai. Strangely enough, these two arias, the fastest in the opera, tend to he taken at a rather leisurely pace nowadays. However, the affections involved - adolescent confusion on the one hand and anger and despair on the other - tell us that the tempo marks are correct.
All other “straight” Allegros are in C! Oddly enough, in this case “tradition” (and it is a tradition that is not very old) sanctions the use of very fast tempos, particularly in the finale of Act 2, which is usually and for no good reason understood in terms of alla breve and taken at breakneck speed. However, apart from the fact that such tempos quite clearly contradict what Mozart stipulated, much has to be sacrificed for the sake of this admittedly infectious verve - the pent-up anger of the Count which is held in check by the closed door, and the despair of the Countess, which is depicted by sensitive figuration in the middle voices. The scene is interrupted by the entrance of Susanna (molto Andante 3/8). Here again a historical misunderstanding not infrettuently determines the tempo, for in the nineteenth century molto Andante signified a slower tempo, whereas in Mozart's lifetime it referred to a tempo that was faster than Andante.
Mozart then returns to the first tempo (Allegro C), a passage replete with Romantic motifs. sonorities and harmonies. It corresponds to the scene of forgiveness in the last finale. The Count, who otherwise refers to his wife only as "Contessa", once again says "Rosina", as he had done a few years earlier when they were very much in love, and he says it in a very tender and romantic manner. This passage is the centre of the finale. Thus Le nozze di Figaro is not about Beaumarchais's “crazy day": it should not be forgotten that Mozart was a theatrical genius, and that his interpretation goes much deeper than this.
The overture begins fast, though as it were from nothing, from pp. The tempo mark is Presto C. If we compare this with the fast tempos of the other two overtures - Don Giovanni (Molto allegro), and Così (Presto) - we are forced to admit that the slowest tempo is that which rs stipulated in Figaro. And yet this overture is usually played faster than the others. However, Mozart did not make a mistake, for the sign C is clearly visible on every stave. In my opinion the music calls for the kind of Presto that is determined by the small note values. This is shown by the violin figuration in bars 13-14, which cannot be brought out at a fast tempo, not to mention a host of other details. On the other hand, medium tempos, such as Mozart's Andante, are often taken very slowly nowadays (“Dove sono", the Countess's second aria; “Contessa, perdono!", the forgiveness scene in the finale), even though this tempo mark deliberately tries to evade the character of an Adagio, i.e, it seems to be saying, “Not too slowly, please". Performers who think it is necessary to "correct" such tempos are simply doing Mozart a disservice.
Mozart’s tempo indications are clear. Sometimes, when one first hears them, they may seem difficult to accept, but upon closer acquaintance they seem wholly appropriate. In view of Mozart’s infallible dramatic instinct, this need not surprise us. It is not altogether easy to go back to the original text in this regard, even if the intentions of the composer are as clear as crystal.
Furthermore, the present "wave" of authentic performances - and this is something I find impossible to understand - has led to a situation where all tempos are speeded up. But, I am led to ask, should this be done against the clearly articulated wishes of the composer? After all, whenever Mozart thought he needed a whirling Allegro, he wrote one.