@runningfrom2am
Act 3:
Later that day in the great hall, Susanna leads on the count with promises of
a rendezvous that night. He is overjoyed but then overhears Susanna conspiring
with Figaro. In a rage, he declares that he will have revenge. The countess, alone,
recalls her past happiness. Marcellina, accompanied by a lawyer, Don Curzio,
demands that Figaro pay his debt or marry her at once. Figaro replies that he can’t
marry without the consent of his parents for whom he’s been searching for years,
having been abducted as a baby. When he reveals a birthmark on his arm,
Marcellina realizes that he is her long-lost son, fathered by Bartolo. Arriving to see
Figaro and Marcellina embracing, Susanna thinks that her fiancé has betrayed her,
but she is pacified when she learns the truth. The countess is determined to go
through with the conspiracy against her husband, and she and Susanna compose a
letter to him confirming the meeting with Susanna that evening in the garden.
Cherubino, now disguised as a girl, appears with his sweetheart, Barbarina, the
daughter of Antonio. Antonio, who has found Cherubino’s cap, also arrives and
reveals the young man. The count is furious to discover that Cherubino has
disobeyed him and is still in the house. Barbarina punctures his anger, explaining
that the count, when he attempted to seduce her, promised her anything she
desired. Now, she wants to marry Cherubino, and the count reluctantly agrees. The
household assembles for Figaro and Susanna’s wedding. While dancing with the
count, Susanna hands him the note, sealed with a pin, confirming their tryst that
evening.