in questo amplesso – Susanna, Marcellina, Don Curzio, Count, Bartolo, Figaro 19. E Susanna non vien – Dove sono i bei momenti – Countess 20. Canzonetta sull'aria – Susanna, Countess 21. Ricevete, o padroncina – Farm girls 22. Ecco la marcia, andiamo – Susanna, Countess, Count, Figaro; Chorus Act 4 23. L'ho perduta... me meschina – Barbarina 24. Il capro e la capretta – Marcellina 25. In quegl'anni in cui val poco – Basilio 26. Tutto è disposto – Aprite un po' quegl'occhi – Figaro 27. Giunse alfin il momento – Deh vieni non tardar – Susanna 28. Pian pianin le andrò più presso – Susanna, Countess, Barbarina, Cherubino, Marcellina, Basilio, Count, Antonio, Figaro, Bartolo Instrumentation The Marriage of Figaro is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two clarini, timpani, and strings; the recitativi secchi are accompanied by a keyboard instrument, usually a fortepiano or a harpsichord, often joined by a cello. The instrumentation of the recitativi secchi is not given in the score, so it is up to the conductor and the performers. A typical performance lasts around 3 hours. Frequently omitted numbers Two arias from act 4 are often omitted: one in which Marcellina regrets that people (unlike animals) abuse their mates (""), and one in which Don Basilio tells how he saved himself from several dangers in his youth, by using the skin of a donkey for shelter and camouflage (""). Mozart wrote two replacement arias for Susanna when the role was taken over by Adriana Ferrarese in the 1789 revival. The replacement arias, "Un moto di gioia" (replacing "Venite, inginocchiatevi" in act 2) and "Al desio di chi t'adora" (replacing "Deh vieni non tardar" in act 4), in which the two clarinets are replaced with basset horns, are normally not used in modern performances. A notable exception was a series of performances at the Metropolitan Opera in 1998 with Cecilia Bartoli as Susanna. Critical discussion Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote a preface to the first published version of the libretto, in which he boldly claimed that he and Mozart had created a new form of music drama: In spite ... of every effort ... to be brief, the opera will not be one of the shortest to have appeared on our stage, for which we hope sufficient excuse will be found in the variety of threads from which the action of