The Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Rossini’s masterpiece “Il Baribiere di Siviglia” is refreshing and features an exciting cast directed with near perfection.

Most notably, Mr. Sher’s production reinterprets the character of Figaro to a new and exciting level. This Figaro wasn’t the happy-go-lucky charmer found in the original libretto. Instead, this was a shrewd businessman thriving in an age of secrets. He made his entrance on an eccentric and elaborate wagon that was curiously drawn by a live mule and surrounded by a platoon of besotted women. The oversized and versatile wagon was aptly symbolic of Figaro’s keen and opportunistic business sense. Rodion Pogossov, who is sharing the role with Peter Mattei delivers the performance in a powerful baritone befitting this version of the barber.

Isabel Leonard’s performance as Rosina was inspired and aroused sympathy for the poor, young girl locked up by her guardian. The softer Rosina was unconvincing as the viper during “Una voce poca fa” but the rest of the opera was served well by this interpretation of the character. Ms. Leonard’s soft, less than powerful voice was perfect for the emotional parts like the aria she sings during her fake music lesson with the Count.

Tenor Javier Camarena was charming and pleasant as Count Almaviva. Mr. Camanera’s Count was no swashbuckling rake seducing innocent Rosina with his smooth confidence. Instead, he was quietly portrayed as a frustrated young man in love. Beaumarchais’ play and the original libretto give the sense that the Count is a suave player. This production’s slightly different interpretation wasn’t disconcerting and in fact complimented Isabel Leonard’s cool and composed presence as Rosina.

The real show stealer however were bass-baritone Maurizio Muraro, who played Dr. Bartolo. His powerful voice projected well and he captured the pompous and ignorant nature of Dr. Bartolo to perfection. Dr. Bartolo and his servant, Abramagio drew the most laughs of the evening. The bass Paata Burchuladze, who played Don Basilio, added just the right touch of slyness to the character. His duet with Muraro’s Dr. Bartolo glorifying slander was one of the better parts of the evening.

The set, designed by Michael Yeargan was mostly composed of an ensemble of intriguing, movable doors that weren’t so innovative in their design as in the way they were utilized. The doors were combined and separated several times to create different impressions – a street one moment or Dr. Bartholo’s house the next. The characters moved around these doors and some potted trees placed strategically to facilitate the plot. The minimalistic design style augmented well the light and tight tone of this revival. Costume Designer Catherine Zuber stayed true to the period in costume design and Christopher Akerlind complimented the set design with his innovative lighting.

The only discordant note in the cast came from Jennifer Check, who played the maid Berta. Ms. Check was too strong a performer to play the role of the relatively unimportant maid and the consequent emphasis placed on Berta as a bow to Ms. Check’s caliber made the character seem contrived. Her aria, “Il vecchiotto cerca moglie,” while brilliantly performed, was disproportionately long and distracted from the otherwise tightly paced plot.

The orchestra took a backseat to the cast as conductor Maurizio Benini’s ensemble failed to add anything to the experience. It became necessary at certain points to consciously remind oneself of the music. The situation wasn’t helped by the added walkway in front of the pit where a lot of action occurred. Especially in these scenes when the actors sang from the area in front of the pit, the music became a nonentity. The lackluster music from the pit seemed to completely disappear at times and if it weren’t for the impressive singing, the production would have fallen flat.

In all, it was an elegant evening of Opera as the cast brought to life a refreshing and polished Barber of Seville.

Bartlett Sher’s production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia will be performed at the Matropolitan Opera through February 18th. For tickets call (212) 362-6000 or visit metopera.org

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!