Rossini’s Barber of Seville doesn’t often get the attention it deserves. Perhaps because it has often been unfavourably compared to Mozart’s weightier opera, Marriage of Figaro. The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro started life as plays by eighteenth century playwright, Pierre Beaumarchais. Sharing the same main characters, the operas are often confused.

In Rossini’s opera, Figaro is both barber and Mr Fixit for the rich (for which he is royally rewarded). His machinations allow Count Almaviva to win over Rosina. In Marriage of Figaro, Figaro has become Count Almaviva’s man servant and unhappily so.

As comic operas, Mozart’s Figaro comes across as far more serious as he delves deeper into the human condition. The Barber of Seville meanwhile, is ninety five percent comedy and English National Opera’s production is a wonderful example of how to do comedy.

For let’s be honest, making an opera truly funny is no easy affair. Most operas are not hilarious even if they were conceived as such. To make them so takes much thought and work.

ENO’s production was a reprise of Jonathan Miller’s production and how fresh it still was when I saw it opening night. Clever stage direction and what turned out to be a dream cast with the necessary theatrical skills, made this a slick affair.

Simon Bailey in the role of Doctor Bartolo was a wonderful pedant. Looking as if he had just stepped out of a Hogarth print, ruddy-cheeked and bewigged, he lolloped around on stage gracelessly. It was pure physical theatre at its best. His voice was fantastically pedestrian and his diction perfect.

His sidekick Don Basilio, sung by Alastair Miles, was also a hoot. This was partially achieved through costume! Sporting an outsized waterboard hat that seesawed up and down in front of him, he managed to cause havoc when interacting with others on stage.

Charles Rice as Fidelio was quite the elegant master of intrigue and produced a great ‘Figaro, Figaro’ aria, where he bemoans the demands the rich make on his time.

Young ENO Harewood artist, Innocent Masuku, was in his element playing comedy especially in disguise as the music teacher. Anna Devin, as Rosina, was a spirited soprano, hitting the tops notes effortlessly and her Italian aria, sung in the original Italian – quite a surprise at ENO where English is the norm!

On the vocal front, the cast were divine in the Rossini’s ensemble pieces– the trios, quintets and sextets provided a lot of mirth. Rossini’s score enchanted, Mozartesque or Haydnesque even and underpinned by wonderful Spanish rhythms and melodies.

Go and see it before it ends Feb 24th.

Barber of Seville runs for 5 more performances: Feb 22,27,29 at 19.00, Feb 24 at 18.00 and Feb 27 at 13.00

KH