The Barber of Seville

One of the things I love doing at an opera, if seated in the right place, is to turn around and glance up at the frontal theatricals of the conductor broadcast on the casts’ video monitor.

What better opportunity to watch that blur of arms and baton than during the frenetic timeless overture to The Barber of Seville.

Conductor Daniel Smith, raised in Sydney but now resident in Italy, let fly with arm and body waving passion – of course in perfect time to the music.

The Barber of Seville is one of the ten most regularly performed operas in the world and is filled with recognisable tunes. A rare comedy in the canon of the artform that often ends with a cruel fate to the leads, usually the lady.

This comedy is doubly blessed to be re-staged with a set designed by Michael Yeargan that was built 30 years ago but is so good it deserves another 30 years.

The opening act features a miniature sized row of terraces that includes a human puppet that sings.  Much of the rest of the opera is set in a giant gorgeously dressed double storey sized dolls house with a bedroom at the top, assorted other rooms and the barber shop on the bottom right. The look and feel draws from the silent movies of the 1920s.

The first solo of note is from Scottish tenor John Longmuir as the adventurous and amorous Count Almaviva. His voice had a wide pleasing tone – like it is coming from a barrel - which you could imagine would penetrate the walls of the house and impress the young ward Rossini he was trying to woo.

Inside the house Italian Mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi tickled the top notes delightfully in “Una voce poco fa” (a voice a little while ago.)

The most famous song is Figaro’s introductory aria, where the barber repeats his name name melodically and tells everyone how important he is.  In this production Samuel Dale Johnson entered with charisma, sung with a sweet tone and at times was thrillingly catching his breath to keep up.

Opera Australia regular Andrew Moran (Dr Bartolo) carved up his role with panache,  having now toured the role on the road for several years in the company’s regional edition. David Parkin (Don Basilio) and Jane Ede (Berta) each grasped their moments to shine.

The comedy, production and good tunes left the audience well pleased.

David Spicer

Photographer: Keith Saunders