Il Barbiere Di Siviglia

This fourth revival of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s 2005 production of Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, is an absolute joy; a fizzing visual feast of colourful costumes, imaginative staging, and of course there’s the wonderful music and singing.

The setting is transferred from Seville into a large multi-coloured, striped, pastel hued, moving box that fills the stage, and has its own large foot lights. These could effectively define the performance area for the players. However, this is not strictly adhered to as the fourth wall is broken during the performance; the Opera House orchestra (conducted by Henrik Nánási) is shushed by the chorus before Count Alamaviva serenades Rosina, and then Figaro makes his entrance from the stalls and that so familiar opening aria. There is a slight sense of disorientation here, that settles down but seeps in at the end of Act 1 when the stage, with the entire cast on it, starts to rock from side to side, move up and down, reflecting the chaos of the Count’s almost simultaneous arrest and release.

It does however work splendidly, and doesn’t overwhelm the playfulness, and wit of the opera, it may in fact enhance it. While it is a comic opera, the humour may not quite hit the spot all the time, so that has been brought to the fore. And that element has to be, especially if your lead is going to be dressed in dungarees and barber-shop pole colours! The pressure is then on the lead and Vito Priante as Figaro revels in the part of the conniving barber. Javier Camerana, in his debut performance at the ROH, is a solid foil as the Count. Their duet when they concoct the ludicrous drunk soldier idea as way to woo Rosina is a hoot.

Also making her Royal Opera debut is Argentinian Daniela Mack, who captures the strength and frustrations of Rosina. She’s promised to the ridiculous Dr Bartolo played by José Fardilha, and determined not to marry him, but is not exactly impressed by the antics of her suitor and his friend. When the couple do finally get it together, the duet is touching and we have the vivid image of the Count’s bright red suit syncing gloriously with Rosina’s lime-green dress.

The opera is sprinkled with delights but the show stealer tonight is Ferruccio Furlanetto as an extraordinarily creepy Don Basilio, whose rendition of ‘La calunnia è un venticello’ is very funny and splendidly toe-curling as he literally crawls all over Bartolo plotting to defame the Count.

The set and costumes designs by Christian Fenouillat and Agostino Cavalca respectively may not be to everyone’s taste. But what cannot be denied is that this is an intoxicating production of one of the greatest comic operas ever written. It has zest and vitality, with both musicians and performers clearly enjoying themselves, this in turn resonates with the audience who very clearly thoroughly enjoyed it.

Performances 21, 23(matinee) and 28 September, and 1 (matinee), 8 and 11 October 2016

Photo courtesy of Mark Douet and the Royal Opera House.