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OPERA REVIEW
The Barber of Seville October 31, 2006
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Hilarity Steals the Spotlight By Olivia Stapp
The Halloween offering at the San Francisco Opera was a revival of its 2003 production of Rossini’s comic masterpiece, The Barber of Seville. Several attendees came dressed for the festivities: butterflies, day-glow angels, and assorted ghouls in evening dress promenaded in the foyer. The program announced an exceptional cast, headed by the charismatic young baritone, Nathan Gunn. But the focal point of the production turned out to be the 45,000-pound set designed by Hans Dieter Schaal, a fantasy minimalist house that looks like a Richard Miller Malibu-style home perched on a revolving stage.
On second viewing of the 2003 production, it is still eye-popping. It’s a mechanical wonder, silently rotating its majestic weight to reveal, in turn, the various interestingly furnished rooms in the two-story house. We are privy to the lives of the family who resides there: Rosina, a plucky young girl who is surreptitiously trying to contact her suitor, Count Almaviva; her choleric elderly guardian, a doctor who is plotting to marry Rosina; a cynical housemaid; and a decrepit butler. There is a music teacher who periodically comes to tutor the girl, and finally, the barber, who in addition to shaving the doctor, conspires with the girl to arrange clandestine meetings with the suitor.
Outside the house, the Count takes cover in a manhole, longing for a sign from his love. The rollicking farce that ensues is a delight. However, in this production Schaaf’s directorial ingeniousness eventually becomes manic. The intricate set provides so many possibilities for inventiveness that the director abandons restraint. There is gag upon gag, overlapping gags, simultaneous gimmicks, and schtick. The singers run around to set up for the next tomfoolery, in an attempt to execute the multiple directorial biddings. The cumulative effect of this over-the-top staging is to dull and nullify the genuine wit of Rossini’s original score.
When I last heard baritone Nathan Gunn, in New York at the Met in The American Tragedy, he filled the theater with his lush, noble voice. Here in San Francisco as Figaro, he was kept so maddeningly busy during the bravura aria "Largo al Factotum" that you could hardly appreciate that he was singing one of the most iconic arias in all of opera. He was obliged to do everything short of cooking an eight-course meal. The lovely mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy (Rosina) displayed polished, velvety vocalism in her showcase aria "Contro un cor," and musical refinement in her choice of intricate embellishments. Debuting tenor, John Osborne (Count Almaviva), broke loose from the staging constraints and presented himself in his arias directly to the audience. It was glorious. His voice was pure and incisive, and his coloratura, high notes, and phrasing were meticulous. The Don Basilio of Bruno di Simone was sung and acted in authentic commedia style. His masterfully shaped recitatives revealed the multifaceted colorations and innuendos available in Rossini interpretation. However, Maestro Barbacini’s runaway tempo in the virtuoso patter section of Basilio’s aria turned Rossini’s playful tongue twister from buoyant merriment to arduous task. Phillip Ens as Basilio, sang well, but with an ever-present Germanic tinge. Catherine Cook (Berta) and Eugene Brancoveanu (Fiorello/Sargeant) are two deluxe singers in the secondary roles. And, Ricardo Herrera as the man-servant Ambrogio, added hilarity with his scuffling about, seemingly oblivious to the overwrought goings on. Maestro Barbacini gave an overly serious interpretation of the score. The effervescence and lightheartedness of Rossini’s music eluded him. Roy Rollo faithfully revived the original Johannes Schaaf production. Bryndon Hassman added high-spirited commentary on the proceedings with his recitative accompaniment.
(Olivia Stapp is an opera director, was formerly artistic director of Festival Opera from 1995 to 2001, and has had a major international career as a soprano.)
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The Barber 
