F-I-G-A-R-O! F-I-G-A-R-O!
Figaro. Figaro. Figaro. Figaro. F-I-G-A-R-O!
That’s the refrain that has been echoing from Los Angeles Opera since early January as the company explores the musical and political ramifications of the savvy servant/cultural revolutionary who was brought to life by the French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais.
Playfully titled “Figaro Unbound,” the succession of programs (to this point) have included operatic and theatrical performances, a radio play, film screenings, lectures, museum exhibits and roundtable discussions.
It all began on a small scale at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre on Jan. 16 with a brilliantly irreverent Beverly Hills updating of “The Marriage of Figaro” called “Figaro! (90210).” Then Feb. 7 the company pulled out all the stops for its mega-revival of John Corigliano’s Figaro-inspired grand opera buffa, “The Ghosts of Versailles.”
The series continued Saturday with L.A. Opera’s presentation of Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” which represents the first (and least political) chapter of Beaumarchais’ Figaro trilogy. The story is set at a time when the characters are all young and beautiful, love is in the air, the mood is playfully light, and Figaro’s revolutionary tendencies are still in the bud.
The music is pure bel canto, filled with lilting arias, sumptuous duets and high-flying ensembles. The plot is equally lighthearted and filled with comic inventions, masquerades and romantic conflicts that are only a step away from commedia dell’arte.
Alas, this “Barber of Seville” is really two contradictory productions. There is the buoyant, deliciously soaring musical performance delivered by the orchestra and the fine ensemble cast overseen by L.A. Opera’s Music Director James Conlon. And then there is the unfocused production originally conceived for the Teatro Real Madrid in Spain by Emilio Sagi, redirected for Los Angeles by Trevore Ross.
Its excessively choreographed style (by Nuria Castejón) places the accents on the wrong syllables. It clutters the stage with unnecessary dancers who more than once upstage the real action of the opera. It is a concept that during the grand culminating ensemble that brings Act 1 to a close, requires the singers to focus their attention on folding origami birds!
The wheel-me-on, wheel-me-off set design by Llorenc Corbella features a series of portable wall units that can be reconfigured to represent the streets of Seville or the interior of Doctor Bartolo’s home. The color scheme throughout most of the opera is executed doggedly in 50 shades of black, white and gray. Then (for no apparent reason) the color scheme explodes into 50 shades of neon green and bubble-gum pink. It’s a shame because the cast is first rate, as is the performance by the L.A. Opera orchestra.
As “The Barber of Seville” opens, Figaro (Rodion Pogossov) — that most clever of factotums — finds himself employed by the young Count Almaviva (René Barbera). The Count hires Figaro to help him woo the woman of his delight — the winsome, and decidedly saucy, Rosina (Elizabeth DeShong). Standing in their way is stuffy old Doctor Bartolo (Alessandro Corbelli), who is Rosina’s guardian and plans to become her husband. The not-so-good doctor is aided in his plot by the pedantic Don Basilio (Kristinn Sigmundsson), and the family’s tobacco-addicted maid, Berta (Lucy Schaufer).
From the overture to the finale, through all of its multiple disguises and romantic assignations, “The Barber of Seville” is illuminated by some of the most purely delightful music in the operatic repertoire. And the cast of this production is ideally suited to the task.
Barbera and DeShong are perfectly matched. He has just the right style of fresh, light tenor voice for bel canto. And when the moment calls for it, he can rise to the challenge of an impressive high C. She is a mezzo-soprano of formidable strength and saucy charm, like two other renowned Rosinas: Cecilia Bartoli and Jennifer Larmore. DeShong can navigate the full range of Rossini’s coloratura pyrotechnics, from sonorous low notes to glittering glissandos, as she demonstrated in her rendition of the aria “Una voce poco fa.”
Pogossov brings robust baritone authority to his Figaro as he manipulates the various escapes that pervade the opera’s plot. Corbelli is a skilled basso-buffa, but fails to raise the character of the thwarted Doctor Bartolo to his comedic potential. On the other hand, Sigmundsson towers above the cast physically while providing the opera’s all-important resounding bass notes.
“The Barber of Seville” was the first opera James Conlon saw as a young boy growing up in New York, and it has held a special place in his heart ever since. I have no idea how many times he has conducted the opera during his operatic career. Hundreds certainly. He conducted this “Barber” with a passion and understanding honed throughout decades.
Jim Farber is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer.
