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Rossini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Soloists, Orquesta del Principado de Asturias, Coro de Ópera de OviedoConductor: Álvaro Albiach< Teatro Campoamor de Oviedo. 16.12.2008 (JMI)

Coproduction: Opera Oviedo and Stadt Theater Bern

Direction: Marianne Clement
Sets and Costumes: Julia Hansen
Lighting: Jacques Battocletti

Cast:
Figaro: Pietro Spagnoli, baritone
Rosina: Silvia Tro Santafé, mezzo soprano
Count Almaviva: José Manuel Zapata, tenor
D. Bartolo: Bruno De Simone, bass
D. Basilio: Simón Orfila, bass
Berta: Marta Ubieta, soprano

Picture © Carlos Pictures

For any stage director, it must be particularly  difficult to make a new production of a very popular opera, and it is easy to understand why they would want to do something completely different to the traditional interpretation and staging. The problem is however,  to create something original and do good work at the same time.

Marianne Clement brings her fertile imagination to this comedy, as she did a few years ago with Il Viaggio a Reims, but the final result is rather uneven. The decision to bring the plot of the opera up to date demands an exhausting application of the imagination and is not always wholly successful.

To present Doctor Bartolo as a dentist and Berta as his nurse is interesting and does not jar  against the libretto. The disguises of Count Almaviva as Rambo and Elvis are funny but Rosina as one of today’s capricious adolescents is not very convincing, since a necessarily obsessive tutor and a music lesson do not make too much sense nowadays.  Don Basilio, as a kind of cowboy, does not make much sense either and as a result this character loses a lot.

There are some amusing details, like the musicians in the first scene being a street group  from the Bolivian altiplano, or the idea of having Figaro and the Count hiding from Dr Bartolo in garbage containers. But there are also details which are in bad taste, like the recognition of Figaro by the Count, while both urinate in the street - a recognition that takes place as the Count is looking at a certain part of Figaro’s anatomy. Guess which! Bingo!

It seems that Mrs Clement loves Calixto Bieito’s work too and she seems to set out to imitate him. I do not believe that this is a good idea or that the modernisation of the opera has to be done in this way. The attempt to turn the ensemble that ends Act I into outbursts of laughter has very little success. The sets are very poor, consisting of a revolving cube to change the different scenes and the costumes could be bought in any flea market. The lighting does not offer any great interest either. In summary, this production is based one hundred percent on Mrs Clement’s ideas and the results are  very patchy in terms of quality.

Catalan Alvaro Albiach provided a routine reading of this work. He is a young conductor who showed a good control of stage and pit, but he lacked sparkle in this musical performance and  the orchestra did not seem to live up to its usual standard.

I have always thought that for the audience to be amused it is necessary that the singers themselves have a good time on stage. If this does not happen, there is no way of transmitting any real joy to the audience. On this occasion there were two singers who were really enjoying themselves, one more who was a great actor, while the other two did not seem to be too amused at all.

In this production the true protagonist is Count Almaviva, since his imitations of Rambo and Elvis Presley were the object of every comment in the theatre. Jose Manuel Zapata made an hilarious interpretation of the Count, which helped both his self-confidence and his general presentation. In vocal terms too, he was also very good and showed that his voice has not lost any flexibility when singing Rossini. Including “Cessa di piú resistere” was a kind of homage to this theatre, where Zapata made his operatic debut six years ago. I have always thought that this most difficult scene has to be introduced only to bring the house down. Zapata coped with the difficulties but he lacked brilliance at the very high notes. For me though,  he was the best of the cast.

The other interpreter having a good time on stage was Pietro Spagnoli as Figaro offering  a very good interpretation of the Barber. From the cavatina “Largo al factotum” he captured  audience the enthusiasm, and both as singer and actor he made an outstanding Figaro.

Bruno De Simone is one of the best Bartolos of recent years. He is an  heir to the long  Italian tradition of  buffo basses, following Montarsolo and Dara,  without taking refuge in the pure  parlando, as he proved when singing “A un Dottor della mia sorte” even though the voice is not outstanding.

Valencian Silvia Tro Santafé was a suitable Rosina in vocal terms. She is a good mezzo-soprano for these kinds of roles, although she does not raise all that much enthusiasm for her characterisation. She is always better than  merely correct, but leaves one with a certain feeling of monotony.

Simón Orfila was not helped by the production and his voice is not the best choice for Don Basilio. Marta Ubieta made a good Berta, particularly in her aria in the second act. Far from hiding her advanced pregnancy, the production takes advantage of it, suggesting the result of an affaire with Figaro.

There was a full house as usual in Oviedo. The biggest applause went to Zapata, Spagnoli and De Simone and  the creative team was received with sonorous booing.

Jose M Irurzun


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