As is the case with so many dramas, the histrionic storyline on stage can sometimes be overshadowed by the melodramatic happenings outside. So is was with Rossini's, "The Barber of Seville". As noted in the Lyric Opera program notes, Rossini faced an angry set of sycophants at the premiere. The Italian claque were in attendance to not only show their unpleasant reaction to Rossini's opera, but to voice their support for the composer, Giovanni Paisiello who had originally set Beaumarchais' story to music. The first "Barber of Seville" had its premier in 1782 and was considered a mainstay on the operatic stage up to that time. After the disastrous 1816 premiere, like most comic operas, Rossini won out in the end and his version of "The Barber of Seville" is the true main stay nearly 200 years later. This opera holds special memories for me, most of all being that this was the first production that I heard at the Lyric Opera of Chicago back in 1994, with Rockwell Blake as Count Almaviva.
The title may be The Barber of Seville, but judging by the individual performances of this production, I would have to change that to "Rosina's Revenge". American Mezzo-Soprano, Isabel Leonard made her Lyric Opera debut with a vocal splash as the servile, yet spirited Rosina. Her dark round tone was sung in a beautifully connected line that bloomed, like her characterization, as her voice eased through every part of its range. Ms. Leonard used her impeccable technique to bring out the subtle nuances of Rosina's personality in the aria, "Una voce poca fa", which conveys the true character beneath her outward obedience and charm. Ms. Leonard's voice has a dark polish in the lower range which is a wonderful contrast to the light airy colors that she can employ throughout the middle and upper parts of her voice with ease in Rossini's florid sections. That is not to say that those areas of her voice are light or small. Ms. Leonard had no problem being heard, as evident in the Act II finale when Ms. Leonard is one of two female singers onstage next to 5 male soloists and all male chorus. Both female parts had no trouble carrying past the overwhelming sound of orchestra and men. In addition to the beautiful singing and interpretation, Ms. Leonard's acting was one of the few highlights in an otherwise frenetic staging. The only flaw was near the end of the opera when her vibrato sounded a bit wide, which was understandable given how much singing is required for the role of Rosina.
The part of Count Almaviva was sung by the young American Tenor, Alek Shrader, who was prominently featured in the operatic documentary, The Audition. Mr. Shrader has quickly made a name for himself as a Rossini/Mozart specialist on the international circuit. He has a sweet and agile voice that has little to no problem executing the long passages of fioritura in every area of his vocal range. That's not to say that his singing was perfect with regard to stylistic choices. Mr. Shrader crooned throughout his first aria, "Ecco ridente..." and employed straight tone, especially when moving in to his higher register. This stripped some of the color from the voice and broke up the Bel Canto line, but because of the innate beauty in his tone, most audiences will accept this method without question. Another bit of collateral damage was Mr. Shrader's projection. His voice was difficult to hear at times even when the orchestral dynamics were piano. Mr. Shrader's singing, however naturally beautiful, was inconsistent and veering dangerously close to a pop-like sound. When Mr. Shrader sang with support and core, his voice projected more easily and suddenly had more depth. With regard to his stage presence, he was quite confident in the characterization of Almaviva, but moved too much around the stage. Even when he just stood and sang, there were too many hand gestures and I'm quite sure that he did an Elvis pose at one point.
Figaro himself was sung by well known American Baritone, Nathan Gunn who is experienced not only in opera, but classic American Musical theater as well. Mr. Gunn has a warm and well rounded tone that is hard not to like, which is basically what I was thinking whenever he sang.
"I want to like him."
It was apparent from his opening cavatina, the ever popular "Largo al Factotum", that the role of Figaro was not necessarily going to be a walk in the park for him. Although Mr. Gunn's voice was a bit bigger than Mr. Shrader's, he had difficulty maintaining his quality of tone throughout the high tessitura of Figaro's opening aria. Mr. Gunn's vibrato was consistently wobbly and uneven throughout the entire opera. It was difficult to pick out his voice in larger ensemble numbers, especially against an orchestral forte. Despite his round and velvety tone, I wonder if Mr. Gunn hasn't inadvertently neglected his operatic technique in pursuit of theatrical interpretations.
In our new title, "Rosina's Revenge", the later would be in reference to the "other" star of this production, word renowned Italian Baritone, Alessandro Corbelli who sang the part of the scheming Dr. Bartolo. I would say that he was the only one of the men to consistently sing with a line. He didn't bark his way through the role, as we have come to expect with it being a slapstick comedy part. I also have to say that it was such a breath of fresh air to hear Signor Corbelli use glottal fry to in order to keep his voice grounded through the fast moving parts that sat in a higher place of his range. This is fast becoming a dying art, which from a technical perspective is a necessity for one who wishes to have a long lasting career in opera. Just ask Mr. Corbelli, who has been singing since the early 70's. In addition to his fine singing, Mr. Corbelli nailed the uptight, highly strung, and effusive nature that is Bartolo.
American Bass-Baritone, Kyle Ketelsen sang the role of Don Basilio. Without any intention of disparaging Mr. Ketelsen's performance, I felt that he was totally miscast in this role. He has a rich dark tone that carried throughout the hall, but it is not the color that is needed for the role. His timbre was far too similar to that of Mr. Corbelli rather than that of a true bass which brings out the texture that Rossini's score calls for. There were times that I felt that Mr. Ketelsen was trying to artificially darken his voice during Basilio's grand aria, "La Calumnia". The casting of a Bass-baritone rather than a Bass was not to my liking which is once again, nothing to do with Mr. Ketelsen.
The comprimario roles were filled out with three singers from the Lyric's Ryan Center young artist program. American Baritone, Will Liverman sang the beginning role of Fiorello, which he sang with rich tone and a connected line. Baritone, John Irvin sang well as the Sergeant, but the surprising stand out of the three, in my opinion, was Soprano, Tracy Cantin in the role of Berta. She has a big bright sound that easily carried along side Ms. Leonard in the male heavy Act II finale. The only criticism I had of Ms. Cantin's singing was that during her aria, it sounded as if she was trying to brighten the tone which took away some of the beautiful depth of sound that he voice is capable of.
Leading the orchestra was Italian conductor, Michele Mariotti, making his Lyric Opera debut. Maestro Mariotti did a wonderful job of adhering to the range of dynamics of the score, although I felt that he took many of the tempi too fast, especially those of the consonant heavy "patter" numbers. There were a few moments that I thought Mr. Corbelli was going to pass out due to lack of oxygen. If the tempi had been a tad slower, the singers would not only have a chance for a full breath, but we could hear the pitches more clearly rather than escaping air of endless consonants.
Making his Lyric Opera directorial debut is Rob Ashford, who recently directed "The Sound of Music" which appeared live on TV. Ashford's stage directions seemed overdone with bits of minutia that either missed or caused distraction both visually and aurally. At the start of the opera, the village orchestra players shuffle around the stage which took away from the music. Ashford had Count Almaviva moving around in apparent romantic sturm und drang as he sang his opening aria, at some points with his back to the audience and downstage, which made it challenging for the audience to hear the music clearly. As I stated before, Alek Shrader who sang the role of Almaviva was in constant motion even when standing still. I think this emphasis on the visual in an aural medium is no aberration, but a disconcerting philosophy that stage directors are allowed to pursue with little restraint or balance. I felt that the overall stage direction was a distraction from what I came to hear.
Both the orchestra and chorus (overwhelmingly male) sounded wonderful with a special nod to the string players who executed the tempi and ever changing dynamic levels with precision.
The set design was by Scott Pask, also making his Lyric Opera debut. I thought it was beautifully elegant, employing a clean looking 18th century Spanish style hacienda villa decorated with a real fountain in the midst of an open courtyard. My only criticsm was the abnormally long amount of time the set change took in between the first 2 scenes, although it was executed in an artistic manner.
