Reviews 2008
Reviews 2008
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by Gioacchino Rossini, directed by Michael Patrick Albano
Canadian Opera Company, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto
April 16-May 10, 2008
The Canadian Opera Company’s latest revival of Rossini’s ever-popular comic opera The Barber of Seville (1816) is a pleasant enough evening though one rather low in dramatic and musical excitement. The problem lies with both Michael Patrick Albano, whose direction is a mix of good and bad ideas, and with conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, who emphasizes elegance of phrasing over the bite and contrast that gives Rossini’s score its verve.
The story, based on the first of Beaumarchais’s three Figaro plays, is as old as Roman comedy. Count Almaviva (Blagoj Nacoski) with the help of the wily barber Figaro (Rodion Pogossov) plots to rescue his beloved Rosina (Enkelejda Shkosa) from the clutches of her jealous old guardian Dr. Bartolo (Patrick Carfizzi), who plans to marry her himself to win her dowry. For the story to be engaging, Almaviva, Figaro and Rosina have to encounter a serious threat in Dr. Bartolo or their victory over him will have no meaning. Albano, however, seems to view Bartolo as a bumbling but rather likeable codger and de-emphasizes all the points in the libretto that characterize him as an ever-watchful tyrant. Albano defuses any tension in the music lesson scene by having Bartolo accidentally hypnotize himself with a metronome and thus miss all the secret messages the young lovers try to communicate to each other via the songs they choose. While some of Albano’s additions are fun, like Figaro’s use of leeches to calm an apoplectic Bartolo, elsewhere his ideas distract from the music. The police search of Bartolo’s house makes so much noise it drowns out the exquisite beginning of the Act I finale as does the scene change that covers the only aria given the maid Berta (Melinda Delorme).
The cast with three unknowns in major roles proves is generally solid. Pogossov’s Figaro enlivens every scene he's in beginning with his wonderfully effervescent account of Figaro’s famous entrance aria. Shkosa has a decidedly matronly look and voice that make it hard to believe any man could dominate her, but her acting goes a long way to making us see her as a helpless young thing and her singing is consistently beautiful. Nacoski has a lovely tone but is bland in both musical and dramatic expression. Carfizzi, who could probably play Bartolo in his sleep, seems content with Albano’s innocuous view of the character. Burak Bilgili is very funny as the pompous Don Basilio and John Kriter steals most scenes he’s in in the silent role of Bartolo’s ancient servant Ambrogio. Yet, despite their efforts, the production lacks impact. After all, rescuing a maiden from a dragon’s lair isn’t all that interesting if the dragon is harmless.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2008-04-17.
Photo: Blogoj Nacoski, Burak Bilgili, Patrick Carfizzi, Enkelejda Shkosa and Rodion Pogossov. ©Michael Cooper.
2008-04-17
The Barber of Seville