The Barber of Seville is a wonderful opera, very funny, witty and sometimes naughty. It is also the prequel to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, despite the fact Marriage of Figaro was written before the Barber of Seville. The main merit is the beautiful operatic score from Rossini. From the rousing overture(despite the unplayable piu mosso aka the final section), the sparkling aria Una Voce Poca Fa to the hilarious Largo Al Factotum, it is a real treat for opera fans. The production is lavishly designed with lovely costumes and sets, and the production while making some liberties is fairly faithful to what Rossini intended. The performances are exceptional, the standout being Gino Quillico as Figaro, a performance of wit and extreme hilarity, something to be expected of Quillico, see him as Dandini in La Cenerentola and you'll know what I'll mean. Cecilia Bartoli sparkles not only visually with beauty, but also vocally; her voice is of mezzo soprano quality, yet has a dazzling colouratura element to it. Nice support also from Carlos Feller as Bartolo and Robert Lloyd as Basilio, particularly Lloyd and his La Calunnia. The tenor playing Almaviva David Kuebler was excellent too, especially at the start. The production is a little overlong, but overall very well done, vocally and visually with the comic coincidences genuinely fun and the suggestion that Berta was in love with Bartolo interesting. 9/10 Bethany Cox.
2 Reviews
Just one cornetto
Gyran12 December 2006
This is a Barber for traditionalists, solid old-fashioned performances, traditional costumes and two traditional sets on a tiny Stuttgart stage. There is the exterior of Don Bartolo's house for scene I and his living room for the rest of the opera. It comes as a bit of a shock to me after some of the lively recent productions I have seen with Moorish costumes, elaborate sets and a revolving stage.
To be honest, the only reason I watched this production is that it is the one favoured by my teacher in my Italian Through Opera course. Yes, we have such things even in Birmingham. The main interest to me is in seeing the 22 year-old Cecilia Bartoli, at the very outset of her career, singing Rosina. As expected, this is a very assured performance vocally and she is about the right age for the part but maybe it lacks some of the nuance of her more mature roles.
There are not many surprises in this production although I did like the suggestion that the elderly maid Berta is secretly in love with Don Bartolo. She strokes his wig wistfully during her aria. One of the things that I learned on my course is that this aria is known as an aria del sorbetto because it is irrelevant to the plot and members of the audience can go and get an ice cream during its performance. I felt like going for an ice cream too but in fairness I ought to add that, although this production did nothing for my jaded palate, most of my classmates, who had never seen Il Barbiere before, thought that it was wonderful.
To be honest, the only reason I watched this production is that it is the one favoured by my teacher in my Italian Through Opera course. Yes, we have such things even in Birmingham. The main interest to me is in seeing the 22 year-old Cecilia Bartoli, at the very outset of her career, singing Rosina. As expected, this is a very assured performance vocally and she is about the right age for the part but maybe it lacks some of the nuance of her more mature roles.
There are not many surprises in this production although I did like the suggestion that the elderly maid Berta is secretly in love with Don Bartolo. She strokes his wig wistfully during her aria. One of the things that I learned on my course is that this aria is known as an aria del sorbetto because it is irrelevant to the plot and members of the audience can go and get an ice cream during its performance. I felt like going for an ice cream too but in fairness I ought to add that, although this production did nothing for my jaded palate, most of my classmates, who had never seen Il Barbiere before, thought that it was wonderful.
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