review by Alex Brooks
The Hubbard Hall Opera Company’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is a pleasure on many levels.
The show is great fun just for the comic shenanigans drawn from the original Beaumarchais play (the same Figaro trilogy from which Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is drawn). The cast assembled here bring, in addition to their formidable vocal abilities, a remarkable acting ability, bringing out the drama and the laughs in the story.
On top of that, the show is full of beautiful music, beautifully done. There is a 19 piece live orchestra, and first-rate singers in every role.
Although the show is done entirely in the original Italian, there are supertitles above the stage which translate, and one of the pleasures of this production is how easy it is to follow the story. The cranky old Doctor Bartolo aims to marry his ward Rosina when she comes of age, and so he is trying to keep her away from all other possible suitors. But Count Almaviva serenades her from the street, and schemes with the crafty Figaro how to foil the Doctor’s defenses and win Rosina’s heart. The Doctor is assisted by his oily music master Basilio, and an assortment of eccentric servants, but they are no match for the brash Figaro.
The combination of an intimate setting and a group of singers talented enough to sing the difficult Bel Canto score and still young enough to have fun doing it and to bring some youthful exuberance to the production creates an irresistible experience that redefines opera as an accessible, exciting thing very different from the big-time opera that has turned so many people off. See this show if you can – it is opera at its best.
Remaining performances are August 22 at 8 pm, and 2 pm matinees on August 24 and 25. For tickets call 518-677-2495, or visit hubbardhall.org.