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Review: ‘The Barber of Seville,’ Truncated and Energetic

Clockwise from top left, Valeriano Lanchas, Isabel Leonard, Elliot Madore and David Portillo in “The Barber of Seville” at the Metropolitan Opera.Credit...Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

“Fast-paced” doesn’t do it justice. Scarcely have you eased into the familiar overture to Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” in the Metropolitan Opera’s holiday family presentation of the work than it is over — and on to the action. That skips about, too, but the big tunes are all there, in at least some of their glory.

At two hours, this version of Bartlett Sher’s production, in a generally felicitous English translation by J. D. McClatchy, is truncated by a third or more. It is intended to attract younger listeners as well as adults and is priced accordingly.

It also gives the company a chance to assess young or lesser-known performers in, presumably, a slightly less pressured setting than a full production. In the first performance this season, on Wednesday, the tenor David Portillo and the bass Valeriano Lanchas made their company debuts alongside the evening’s star, the well-established and highly valued Isabel Leonard.

Mr. Portillo settled into the role of Count Almaviva nicely after a tentative start. His voice initially sounded hard and thin at the top, and his early roulades were a bit balky, but he went on to display a warm, nuanced tone, especially in the second act. Mr. Lanchas, as Dr. Bartolo, brought the appropriate bluster to his patter numbers but often skated over the top of the words.

The baritone Elliot Madore sang Figaro with solidity and plenty of swagger. Ms. Leonard was predictably excellent as Rosina, and Holli Harrison had a fine turn or two as the housekeeper, Berta. Antony Walker conducted, allowing a little ensemble slippage at times, but things should tighten up in coming performances.

The acting was spirited everywhere. Rob Besserer often stole the show with his somnolent, seedy, mostly mute portrayal of Ambrogio, Bartolo’s servant.

“The Barber of Seville” runs through Jan. 2 at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; 212-362-6000, metopera­.org.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section C, Page 14 of the New York edition with the headline: Rossini’s Ingenious Haircutter, With Trims. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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