The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere Di Siviglia)

Synopsis

Il barbiere di Siviglia. A young English aristocrat arrives in Seville to woo the lovely Rosina. However, she is being pursued by an unscrupulous older man, Bartolo and it is only with the ingenious help of the quick thinking barber, Figaro, that the situation is rescued.

Our Review:

14 October 2011

In Seville, two men fight for the affections of the beautiful Rosina, Count Almaviva (disguised as a poor student Lindoro) and Dr Bartolo, her guardian. The Count enlists Figaro, town barber and busybody to help him win Rosina.

Comic mayhem ensues, but who will triumph? Welsh National Opera’s The Barber of Seville sparkles brightly with comedy at the Liverpool Empire.

The action begins by setting the stage up, come characters finish dressing and there’s some interaction with the audience. Then the crowd sits watching the orchestra pit; it felt too long, I didn’t understand the reasoning, and it felt quite strange to be in an audience watching that.

However, as the opera progressed (and particularly in the second act) I grew to quite enjoy the use of this on-stage audience, when they interacted with the real characters. Initially I felt quite put off by them being on stage – with such a detailed set (and plot) the...

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Latest User Review

Tom Donohue -Artist and Illustrator - 16 October 2011:

The perfomance was truly exceptional.I thought that the added "theatricality" of the stage-bound audience added to the whole ensemble production(almost Shakespearean in it'effectiveness ....) There was a palpable chemistry between cast and audience.This was as a result of the sheer vitality, great singing and fabulous comedic qualities-individually and collectively- with the fabulous music of Rossini The "English translation worked very well--this was well researched , obviously and did not appear to be -just a fit--rhyming of the songs where spot on! (didn't need sub-titles) All in all a fantastic production by all concerned...Bravo! to the Welsh National Opera and Liverpool Empire...Rossini would be proud!...

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