Pountney, who in his capacity as Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Welsh National Opera commissioned the composition, was inspired in his libretto by two different theatrical follow-ups to these two plays, Beaumarchais's own La Mère coupable (The Guilty Mother), and Ödön von Horváth's 1936 play, Figaro läßt sich scheiden (Figaro Gets a Divorce).
[3] Both of these plays have previous operatic settings, the former by Darius Milhaud (1966), Inger Wikström (Den brottsliga modern, 1990[4]), and Thierry Pécou (2010), the latter by Giselher Klebe (1963).
[5] Alongside the "febrile and glittery soundscape" Langer created for the Almavivas' flight from revolution, there was also her "jazzier style that added the lighter mood and the element of hope".
Figaro helps the family to flee the clutches of the Major back to the Count's castle, in the process he shoots The Cherub.
However Figaro, Susanna, Angelika and Serafin escape through a secret passage, whilst the Count and Countess remain behind to face the music.