Art & Authenticy

Watching, watching, watching, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, watching.

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I have had many assumptions about operas before seeing Barber of Seville. Some of them are from the way operas are mentioned in TV shows, most of them are from my experience with Chinese opera. While waiting for the curtain to rise in the opera house (which was a sight itself), memories of falling asleep in the theaters in China while my grandmother enthusiastically hummed along with the performance under her breath came to my mind. I started hoping that Barber of Seville would have some aerobatic moves, since those where the only factors that kept Chinese operas from being a complete torture for me in my childhood. Continue Reading »

Much can be said about the appeal of operas to first time viewers. Much can be said about the appeal of operas to various social classes. One thing that is for certain though, The Barber of Seville is truly a masterpiece that has been passed down from history. Rossini created a remarkable gem in The Barber of Seville by combining the elements of effective plot twists, costuming, music and of course, singing. Nothing was more striking that how the opera commenced with the Barber of Seville Overture. There is no doubt that the familiar melody stirred our excitement in anticipation of the main theatrics. The flow of the production was very smooth in that the music’s tempo was appropriate to the setting. For example, when it built up to a crescendo, we can feel the excitement building up to the extent that certain audience members even began to shake with the flow. The comical aspect of “The Useless Precaution” added a sense of levity that would otherwise have contradicted the political setting of the time period. The Barber of Seville was a lighthearted and pleasant production that appealed to all audience members. Whether it was first-time theatergoers such as myself, or opera veterans with their professional opera glasses, The Barber of Seville created a good impression of what operas have to offer.

Funopera is the word I made up to describe The Barber of Seville because I never expected an opera to actually be so fun, sweet, and drama free. It was like following a movie rather that what I thought would be three hours of mellow and lullaby-like singing. Continue Reading »