the Cheese has landed on the Macaroni

 

There were tears all round when Simon Keenlyside pulled out of the Royal Opera House's forthcoming Il barbiere di Siviglia. But on the showing of today's dress rehearsal, I don't think many will be disappointed by his replacement, Pietro Spagnoli.

His Figaro is a broad-brush portrayal, in keeping with Leiser and Caurier's cartoony production. Spagnoli is a generous performer with a big voice and great comic timing.  He's a less than central presence most of the time, but who wouldn't be when sharing the stage with Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessandro Corbelli and the great Ferruccio Furlanetto (an alarmingly creepy Don Basilio)? All on top form I should add.

JDF especially. His singing has a range of colour and expression I haven't heard from him before - if he can manage another Cessa di più resistere like today's, he won't be allowed home without an encore. And he has blossomed into a fine comic actor, at last playing to his colleagues instead of the audience. He didn't put a foot wrong. His drunken soldier and upright singing teacher were beautifully detailed.

Detail was a hallmark of the production this time round. Leiser and Caurier have clearly thought and rehearsed every move through. Comedy needs serious preparation. I seem to recall a few longueurs and some over-the-top caricaturing when this production first appeared. All gone. It is simply funnier than it has any right to be.

Pappano, playing the harpsichord continuo as well as conducting, is completely on their wavelength - light, nuanced, alert. 

Even better than La traviata. Yes, really.

 

Comments

[Hal]

How many different productions of The Barber are there around today? I would think having to adjust to a different production all the time would be annoying to singers. In fact I asked DiDonato about that and got of course a smooth answer saying that it "keeps one on one's toes" or somesuch. Has anyone ever heard of a singer complaining about having to adjust to yet another staging?

[Parsifal]

I think I m gonna cry :)

[Aliprando]

I agree with every word. Yesterday's rehearsal was fantastic with everyone on top form. From where I was sitting Pappano seemed to dance his way through the score, and the orchestral "colours" were amazing, even in Berta's "aria di sorbetto". Hope they can keep it up for the performances !
Having to adjust to different productions is hardly new (eg Malibran sang Sonnambula in English in London) and presumably helps
prevent performances from suffering from stale routine. Joyce di Donato and JDF were WONDERFUL with the proper kind of personal and physical interaction (alas missing on all sides in the current Ballo).

[Hal]

I did not see the dress rehearsal but in the last Met performance with JDF and DiDonato the interaction was fine. At the end just before he began to sing Cessa she adjusted his collar in a charming maternal (wifely?) gesture that appeared to take him by surprise; he started to giggle but quickly suppressed it and launched into his final virtuoso aria.

[cd]

Could someone, please, advise the ROH to make a DVD of this production! They missed a historic, "probably never again" moment with Matilde di Shabran where cast and production came together so well. It sounds like this Barbiere is or will be a memorable one. How unfortunate for those of us who cannot attend a live performance. At least the Met tries to share with a larger audience, and it's not bad for the Met either. The brits seem to hold on tight to their creations. They should think more globally.

[inter mezzo]

@cd - they are broadcasting it live around the UK on 15 July. This performance may well come out on DVD at some point, as do most ROH productions - try the ROH online shop if you can't buy them where you live.

I don't know why the ROH don't show in US cinemas but I suspect it's lack of demand. They don't have any civic duty to share their productions with the US public in the way the Met does, so it doesn't make sense for them to expand into the US unless they can cover their costs. The UK taxpayers who indirectly provide a third of ROH funding aren't about to subsidise US moviegoers' entertainment.

[Hal]

There is already a Florez DVD of The Barber with Bayo done in Madrid all dressed out in, to me, terrible costumes (shocking pinks, etc.) Well sung, at least by him. The Met staging looked more Spanish, I would say, but was never issued in DVD. I think record companies are somewhat reluctant to duplicate works although there are two Florez Fille's (one from Genoa; another from London) so there may be a chance of this getting onto DVD. DiDonato would be an improvement over Bayo, in my view.

[Manou]

Just back from the first performance - wonderful evening! DiDonato fell and sprained her ankle in Act II, but gamely went on with first a walking stick, and after the interval a proper crutch. The audience was delirious and even the critics (and Jeremy Paxman in a box) were clapping like mad. No encore for "Cessa" but funny bit of business with Corbelli consulting his fob watch to marvel at the length of the applause.