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Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Gabrielle Ferro, Conductor
Gino Quilico, David Kuebler, Cecilia Bartoli, Carlos Feller, Robert Lloyd
Composer: Gioacchino Rossini
Librettist: Cesare Sterbini
This is a delightful stage version of Rossini's most famous opera. Gabrielle Ferro keeps the pace moving nicely, which is important in this opera. I always find that Act I tends to overstay its welcome, but for the most part I was kept focused on the action. One of the deepest impressions I had of this Il Barbiere di Siviglia is that, more than any other production I've seen, you could have lifted the characters out of this piece and dropped them into Le Nozze di Figaro without too much trouble. (It is too bad that the vocal parts don't match up; a two-night performance of Barbiere and then Figaro with the same cast would be an interesting experience. Alas, no Almaviva could be expected to sing coloratura tenor one day and baritone the next!)
After his great Dandini in the Chailly La Cenerentola, I was expecting great things of Gino Quilico in the title role. He shows great comic timing - the scene where Bartolo is being shaved is priceless, as is the final scene where he becomes something of a third wheel to the lovers' reunion. I was equally impressed by his singing - Quilico is an excellent interpreter of Rossini, with the amazingly agile voice one needs to make a success of this part.
David Kuebler's acting impressed me more than his singing; the latter wasn't bad, but his voice is just the tiniest bit thin at times. He has a comic sense that can hold its own next to Quilico and which made for an enjoyable performance overall. Out of all the Almaviva's I've seen or heard, he is the only one I could envision turning into the Count of Le Nozze di Figaro. He managed to convey a subtle hint of self-centeredness without losing any sincerity, an interpretation that I liked very much. Too many Almaviva's are reduced to moony creampuffs.
Cecilia Bartoli shows herself to be a great actress as well as a wonderful singer. "Una voce poco fa" was great vocally but also quite amusing. In the second act, I was particularly impressed by her reaction when Bartolo handed her "Lindoro's" letter, as well as her impassioned accusation of Almaviva in the final scene.
Carlos Feller's interpretation of Bartolo is quite relaxed, a welcome change from the usual buffoon. He gives us Bartolo as a somewhat conceited old schemer, but not really evil - again, a character you could plunk down into Mozart's Figaro with no trouble at all. I liked how he accepts his defeat at the end with a minimum of bluster. A quite decent bass voice.
Robert Lloyd is positively hilarious in the role of Don Basilio. His one aria made me sit up and take notice even though I was watching with one eye on the screen and one in a Wodehouse novel. He possesses a very pure and deep bass voice and he knows how to use it, plus he looked and acted the part without overdoing things.
Edith Kertesz-Gabry deserves a mention for her one aria as Berta. (Why is that apparently only the Italians call this character Marcellina?) She has a pleasant voice if not an outstanding one and she does a good bit of character acting in this scene and in the rest of the opera.
The entire cast had a remarkably close-knit ensemble feel to it, playing off each other and so forth to draw each scene along. This is partially due to the caliber of the performers, but I think Ferro deserves a nod as well for holding the whole thing together.
The performance wasn't soul-transforming but I definitely enjoyed the two evenings I spent watching it. I'd suggest this as good alternative to the Ponnelle film, as it's probably a bit easier to find.
The VHS version of the video that I had from the library had some fairly messed up subtitles, just to warn anyone on the market for a VHS copy. Occasionally the first line or so from the next scene seemed to have been put at the end of the scene before instead. This is probably a quirk of just the one video release but I thought I'd mention it.
| Originally Reviewed: | 01-Nov-03 |
