Operas these days are often dismissed as old fashioned and irrelevant, but in reality many showed how the news agenda of the day affected society. Huw Edwards uncovers the histories behind six favourite operas. 1: The Marriage of Figaro. Vienna in 1785 was a political melting pot, with the ideas of the Enlightenment holding sway. The young Mozart had arrived hoping to confirm his early musical promise. The vehicle he chose to use was a banned French play. Producer Martin Smith