…so accomplished a cast, in which Gerald Finley's Count, Miah Persson's Susanna and Rinat Shaham's Cherubino stand out as ideal.

Here is a Figaro to put with the 1973 Glyndebourne production placed among the top five operatic DVDs. Figaro and Susanna are very much the centre here, and we like them not only because they sing and act well but because they are sympathetic in a modern way. Dorothea Röschmann's Countess is an unusually active, passionate woman... The Count's in an unenviable role... Finley goes grim-faced from one defeat to another, singing like a true aristocrat all the way

Schrott is a lively, resourceful and above all very good-looking Figaro, but the delightful Susanna (Miah Persson), charmingly dressed, is his match...The dignified Countess (Dorothea Roschmann)... is appealingly spirited...The sets are appealing and the action moves forward with a swing.

There's so much to love about David McVicar's Royal Opera House Figaro, set in pre-revolutionary France and filmed in 2006 with Antonio Pappano at the helm: the relationship between Gerald Finley and Dorothea Röschmann's Count and Countess shocks with its volatility, yet Erwin Schrott's sensual, rebellious Figaro, Miah Persson's cool, sparky Susanna, and Rinat Shaham's gawky Cherubino are all treasurable.