Know Beaumarchais’ play of The Barber of Seville? Yes? No? Well regardless of your answer, the opera version by Rossini, showing at the Metropolitan Opera, is a must see! A simple and creative set designed by Michael Yeargan, blinding lighting by Christopher Akerlind, smooth on key music conducted by Maurizio Benini, and an explosion of pizzazz by the main cast, as well as supporting characters, brew up a wonderful production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Bartlett Sher.
Yeargan’s cleverly designed set consisted mainly of ten creamy beige colored doors, giving off an antique feel to blend in with the time period in Seville. Easy on the eyes, these doors allowed smooth transformations and transitioning of scenes throughout the opera, from outside Dr. Bartolo’s house to inside his house. To enhance the set, decorative props were brought out fluidly by the supporting cast twirling around the stage with props like the orange trees, which did not hold much significance until they were used to provide comedic relief. An obnoxiously large anvil slowly lowered in the background at the end of Act I was extremely out of place. It was a distraction when the main cast was singing, but gave the audience quite a laugh. Overall, the universal set was intelligently created and did its’ job in creating the different scenarios.
However, this set would not be much without the help of Christopher Akerlind’s lighting. Akerlind did a terrific job with the lighting as it set the mood for the scenes and created a sense of time, such as the dim lights at the beginning when Count Almaviva stands under Rosina’s balcony with a large group. The dim lights and the glowing light from Rosina’s room created a romantic mood and indicated nightfall. The only flaw of Akerlind’s work throughout the opera was the blinding bright light that shone over the whole auditorium as the backdrop rose. It did not seem to have any significance to what was occurring during the opera, besides possibly indicating that the intermission was nearing. Nonetheless in Act Two, the dark gray lighting, with flashes of white to make lightning, perfectly reenacted stormy weather and made up for the blinding light.
Conducting this opera was Benini, who started out his career with Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino. Debuting with a Rossini opera and having conducted another one of Rossini’s works, Zelmira, Benini has a great sense of Rossini’s style. This would contribute to his wonderful conducting Wednesday evening as the orchestra played smoothly along with the main cast. The music fit the scenarios and mood throughout the opera. The orchestra did a wonderful job playing to support the voices of the singers with dynamics that followed the singers soothingly soft or determinedly loud lyrics.
What had really brought out the whole opera was the main cast. With Javier Camarena playing Count Almaviva, his smooth velvety voice in “Ecco, ridente in cielo” captured me as it conveyed his love for Rosina, played by Isabel Leonard. Rosina’s sweet voice in “Una voce poco fa” displayed the perfect image of young maiden imprisoned in her home, yet was powerful at the right parts to show her strong will to break away from her guardian, Dr. Bartolo. Also, the refreshing flow of Leonard’s voice perfectly suits Rosina who has fallen in love for the first time. On the other hand, Maurizio Muraro’s overpowering voice in “A un dottor della mia sorta,” suits Dr. Bartolo with an authoritative power as he entraps Rosina in his house and plots to marry her against her will. These three singers formed the love triangle of the opera and did an excellent job singing their roles as they gave the feeling that they were not just characters, but real people in love.
With all these wonderful attributes combined, Il Barbiere di Siviglia was a light airy romantic opera, half filled with comedy. A live donkey on stage, a falling anvil, and a surprising present from Figaro, the opera is captivating and humorous. This opera is a bang for your buck, literally!
