Candice Zhiyuan Luo

MUSIC 2710F

Thesis​ : Cherubino in ​ Le Nozze Di Figaro​ is given female qualities in order to display

the character’s adolescent youthfulness and vulnerability.

Arguments:

- In Cherubino’s arias, he is very outspoken about his helplessness, and confusion

in the lyrics.

- Cherubino’s arias are composed for a mezzo soprano, musical and compositional

expressions of the repertoires follow stereotypes of female operatic roles, which

are usually more associated with vulnerability.

- Cherubino is an adolescent, romantic, love-obsessed boy who is just starting to

experience hormones and desires of affection.

- The character is played by a female to highlight Cherubino’s feminine qualities,

to more accurately portray his youthfulness (physical-appearance-wise and

voice-wise), and deliver more smooth arias that include a lot more emotional

expression and soft spokenness than general male roles would get in their arias.

Conclusion:

Cherubino’s character is portrayed with feminine characteristics in order to emphasize

his vulnerability and adolescent innocence, to more appropriately deliver a smooth

production of ​Le Nozze di Figaro.​

Key words​:

- Cherubino’s characteristics

- Adolescence

- Young

- Love-longing

- Foreign to and curious about affection

- Experiencing challenges that come with the numerous crushes he has on

the women in the opera.

- Arias

- Voi Che Sapete

- Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio

- Translation of the lyrics/poems

- Cherubino is played by a female singer in the opera production of ​Le Nozze Di

Figaro.​

- In the ​Non so piu​ (an aria of Cherubino’s) excerpt from Miller’s production of ​Le

Nozze Di Figaro​, Cherubino is again as usual, played by a woman. He is also

portrayed very playful, sparkling with desires and youthfulness, almost flirty

when singing to Susana, maid of the Countess’.

Annotated Bibliography​:

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Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.

- Cambridge Dictionary, 4th edition.

- Carter, Tim. W.A Mozart: 'Le Nozze Di Figaro.'. New York: Cambridge University

Press, 1987.

- Collins Italian Dictionary, 4\2th edition.

- Ditson, Oliver. “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart’s Opera Marriage of Figaro,

containing the Italian text, with an English translation, and the Music of all of the

Principal Airs”. Oliver Ditson Company. 1888.

- Dellamora, Richard. "Mozart and the Politics of Intimacy: The Marriage of Figaro

in Toronto, Paris and New York." In The Work of Opera: Genre, Nationhood, and

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Columbia University Press, 1997.

- Hadlock, Heather. "The Career of Cherubino, Or the Trouser Role Grows Up." In

Siren Songs: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Opera, edited by Mary

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