With the staging of The Barber of Seville, Dubai Opera will establish itself with a solid and satisfying staple on its opening weekend – a lauded and much-loved comedic masterpiece, the farcical charms and hummable melodies of which will please newcomers and enthusiasts alike.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the opera, Rossini’s best-known work, which adds a fitting sense of ceremony to the UAE debut performances on Friday, September 2 and Sunday, September 4.
And based on a private viewing of Tuesday, August 30th’s dress rehearsal, audiences will not be disappointed by the visiting Italian company, Fondazione Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi.
A markedly traditional production, the stately sets and period costumes look like they could have been lifted from any decade in the work’s two-century history.
Soprano Rocío Ignacio bathes in the showy pyrotechnics of her role as the young Rosina, relishing several vertiginous vocal exchanges with her conniving, elderly guardian, Don Bartolo, an unpopular rogue – played robustly by Domenico Balzani – who seeks to ensnare the young beauty in marriage at the earliest opportunity.
But Rosina’s heart has been stolen unknowingly by the subterfuge of the intrepid Count Almaviva, whose numerous guises and foils are milked handsomely by tenor Bogdan Mihai.
Inevitably, however, it is Massimo Cavalletti’s matchmaking titular barber, Figaro, who steals the show, with his barrelling, bravado baritone.
The quaint comedy builds steadily to two moments of act-closing ensemble absurdity, as dozens of chorus members flood the stage with overwhelming movement and voice.
Meanwhile, the orchestra's moment to shine comes in the storm of the Temporale instrumental interlude, announcing the fall of the dusk, which proceeds the opera's fanatic, fanciful finale.
The Trieste company will be in residence for the opening six nights. They backed Plácido Domingo grand opening on August 31 and will also present Bizet's The Pearl Fishers on Thursday, September 1 and on Saturday, September 3, before wrapping their visit with an instrumental gala Opera Without Words on Monday, September 5.
But in Rossini’s classic, they face perhaps their greatest test – and our early look suggests only the coldest soul will walk away from this big-hearted farce with anything but a huge smile on their face.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
