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Christopher Tiesi as Almavivia, Emily Fons as Rosina, and Jonathan Beyer as Figaro in Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ 2015 production of “The Barber of Seville.” Photograph Ⓒ Ken Howard, courtesy of Opera Theatre of St. Louis
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When I used to teach English at a university in Illinois, one of the first writing assignments for my students was to have them describe their respective utopias, whether these places free from dullness and pain were informed by religion or not. Some made enumerations of what might constitute a great day, some sat by the feet of their more traditional gods, others made radical efforts to actually describe what Heaven was. Quite often Heaven was a reuniting with lost relatives, a place free from bodily concerns and a locus of pure joy for these earnest youngsters. For me, an amateur violinist since the age of 7, heaven is getting to go and witness the old, great works of composers—in this case, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville at Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
Rossini’s comic opera, destined to become a favorite, had a rough first night on February 20, 1816. Without going into too much detail, the work was met by hisses and jeers as well as several stage malfunctions. By the second night, however, Rossini and Co. triumphed. The Barber of Seville, a hilarious and captivating work in two acts, continues to intrigue and delight audiences to this day, and Saturday, May 23 was no exception. From the performances to the set design, Opera Theatre made a masterpiece of Rossini’s opera buffa.
Emily Fons, a splendid mezzo-soprano, plays the role of Rosina, the young woman who is locked up in the house of the cranky and aged Dr. Bartolo, played by Dale Travis, whose performance is at once hilarious and beautiful. Rosina’s true love lies with the disguised Count Almaviva, played by Christopher Tiesi, who comes at first in the guise of a poor student, then a drunken soldier, then a musician who attempts to infiltrate Bartolo’s house, thus giving him a chance to be near Rosina, undetected (at first) by the bitter doctor. Tiesi and Fons, in their musical exchanges on stage, had me melting into my seat. Indeed, the entire cast of The Barber of Seville is exquisite. But my personal favorite was the role of Figaro, played by Jonathan Beyer. Figaro is the many-minded, novus homo, the new man of science and empirical learning. Figaro is the orchestrator of Rosina and Almaviva’s possible love and marriage. He is not a barber in the medieval sense; he is a man of letters and erudition, whose learning is only rivaled by that of Rosina. Figaro is a terrific prevaricator and arranger of situations and scenes. Beyer’s singing and acting left me breathless, as did the entire performance.
It should be kept in mind that opera was, is and should be popular entertainment for the most part. As I walked along a street in Webster, nearing the white tents set up on the lawn in front of the theater, I could hear other music from cars and houses, ranging from rock and roll to hip-hop. While these genres are not my personal favorites, I thought of how an eclectic taste in music could behoove all of us, and make it possible to live and rub about the high and low. Democracy requires we do this act nearly every day, that we know how to fit ourselves within a myriad of supposedly contradictory situations. Keeping with the assignment I gave to my students, I can only end by saying The Barber of Seville, in the competent hands and voices of Opera Theatre, is my heaven, utopia. I want to go back again and see not only the suits and ties and dresses, but the sea of faces in the theater that were certainly in rapt attention for the entirety of the two acts. I lost myself in the performance and felt I was a part of something larger, better, more whole than just my own body and mind. In short, this opera was a transformative thing for me, the closest thing to a utopia for the meantime.
The Barber of Seville runs through Saturday, June 27 at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar; tickets are $25–$129, and can be purchased online, or by calling the box office at 314-961-0171. For more information about Opera Theatre of St. Louis, visit opera-stl.org.