UK Edition
Review
The Barber of Seville, Welsh National Opera, review: 'pure entertainment'
Subtlety is a quality of which Rossini is seldom accused, and nobody should go to The Barber of Seville to fuss or agonise. We aren’t called on to feel anything for its characters – they’re only bundles of animal lusts and vices, charged by a score that sparkles with energy and disdains tendresse. This is farce, brutal and sweet, so sit back and enjoy.
A rather starchy audience for the first night of Sam Brown’s new production seemed oddly reluctant to do this, even though I felt they were in safe hands.
Perhaps aspects of the plot would benefit from a more specific location – the nature of Rosina’s incarceration as Bartolo’s ward isn’t made clear, for instance, least of all when the lady in question swans around in a pink chiffon peignoir and vamps it up like something out of Destry Rides Again.
But Brown’s approach isn’t precious or pretentious. Set in the freewheeling fantasy world of pantomime, without reference to the reality of 18th-century Spain, his staging looks handsome, with the simplicity of Ralph Koltai’s burnished translucent panels sharply contrasted to Sue Blane’s outlandishly garish costumes.
The action moves slickly and the gags (old favourites including stuffed dogs, policemen from Penzance, farts and knickers) all fall just the right side of slapstick vulgarity. That’s not as easy as it looks.
Star of the show is the inimitable Andrew Shore, whose Doctor Bartolo is a study of befuddled irascibility in the Alastair Sim or Arthur Lowe class. His diction is mostly exemplary, though even he has trouble articulating parts of Kelley Rourke’s breezy new translation.
Nico Darmanin makes an endearing Almaviva, his small but clean tenor lithely fielding the rat-a-tat-tat coloratura, and Nicholas Lester,
Richard Wiegold and Rosie Hay contribute brightly to the team as a strongly characterised Figaro, Basilio and Berta. I had minor reservations about Claire Booth’s Rosina – her light soprano isn’t right for the role – but she is such a fine musician and resourceful actress that she makes it work for her.
James Southall conducts a neat, crisp reading of the score, and WNO’s excellent orchestra revels in Rossini’s trademark crescendos. The sum of it is pure entertainment, never something to be sniffed at.
Until 25 February, then touring to Bristol, Milton Keynes, Llandudno, Plymouth, Birmingham and Southampton; 029 2063 6464, www.wno.org.uk