A Note from Figaro

Note from Figaro

   Just over a year and a half ago I went to see 'Marriage of Figaro' at the Royal Opera House. It was a production starring Erwin Schrott, Jonathan Veira and Dorothea Roschmann with Antonio Pappano as conductor. It was one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen on stage with a life and passion that I yearn for in my work. I knew I wanted to make a painting of it straight away but it took me a while to work out which scene and how to do it. The scene I chose was one where the count has received a letter from Figaro claiming the countess' guilt. He is demanding the key for the closet behind, challenging his wife to prove her innocence. She is facing him down, and at the same time attempting to prevent him from looking into the closet behind her where a naked man is hiding. How could any painting with this as a story be a dull undertaking. 
  The video clip of the actual production I saw- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdfTJnPfakA

  I'd planned this painting at the beginning of the year, spent pages and pages on possible compositions and lay out. I then bribed my friends with a roast dinner to pose for me while I took sketches and photographs. From about twenty or so shots I made final composition studies and tonal maps.
  Certain things I decided from the beginning:

1. I wanted to make sure I kept the colours bright and clean
2. Make the scenery simple and plain to draw the focus on the figures and suggest the stages nature of the scene
3. The figures need to be painted as if they do not have stick up the buns like the previous paintings

  I looked at a lot of Caravaggio paintings and attempted to capture the same feel and atmosphere with added humour.
  The painting was in fact very easy, and it flowed a lot cleaner than anything I'd ever done. Perhaps this was because I'd spend two months planning and another year of it staying in the back of my mind. Every bit of it was planned out.
  What this did tell me was how big a difference painting a piece I wanted to made. I've been dying to paint this so when it cam you could see my enjoyment, and you could tell that I'd painted it easily.