About the work
A five-act drama by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, completed in 1791. Although the Comédie-Française had accepted the play, Beaumarchais, for business reasons, had it premiere instead on 26 June 1792 at the newly founded Théâtre du Marais. It is the third and final part of the Figaro trilogy.
Plot
Twenty years after Figaro and Suzanne's wedding, the Almaviva family lives in Paris burdened by a secret: son Léon is not the Count's child but stems from an earlier liaison between the countess and the now-deceased page Chérubin. The schemer Bégearss tries to divide the family and seize its fortune by marrying the illegitimate daughter Florestine, but is exposed by Figaro and Suzanne.
Cultural significance
Unlike its two predecessors, the play fell out of the standard repertoire after its premiere at the Théâtre du Marais and its revised staging at the Comédie-Française (1797), and was not successfully revived there until 1990.