If it’s summer in Cleveland, it’s time for Lyric Opera and their welcome additions to the cultural scene. Wednesday evening their season began with a slightly uneven, but still enjoyable performance of they ‘oldest Italian comic opera never to have fallen out of the repertoire’ The Barber of Seville by Gioacchino Rossini. Since the very first performance in Rome on February 20, 1816, the opera has delighted audiences on every continent, and probably every language possible.
Lyric Opera sings in English, sometimes with surtitles, sometimes not. This opera is without, and prompts my biggest quibble with the production. Somehow, singing in the native language makes for easier recognition of the music, and not all translations work equally well. At least if it’s in Italian (or German or whatever) and you don’t speak that language, you can just relax and enjoy the music. But sung in English, which is brutally difficult to understand in almost any circumstance, the slightest bit of difficulty in comprehension rapidly multiplies, leaving the listener exceedingly frustrated. I heard this sentiment expressed by more than a few people Wednesday evening, so it is to be hoped that in future, surtitles will be used. (Surprisingly enough, they’ve announced that surtitles will be used in the final production: The Fall of the House of Usher, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s famous story, which was written in English, in the first place!)
Quibble aside, it was good to see Lyric’s ‘stock company’ all together on stage again. Baritone Brian Keith Johnson as the barber Figaro is pure delight. Tenor Timothy Culver sang and acted his various roles (Almaviva, Lindoro and Don Alonso) with majesty, exuberance or hoppy goofiness as required. As Dr. Bartolo, bass-baritone Jason Budd endows the portly, aging man with energy and comic amorous antics. There was no problem whatever in hearing them; if anything they might have been a bit too loud, but it was not always possible to understand them, especially in the rapid-paced patter songs. These three gentlemen have appeared numerous times together in Lyric Opera productions, and share a sense of ensemble that lends a smoothness to the action.
The other major male part is that of Don Basilio, which was deftly performed by bass Samuel J. Smith, whose slender stature still allowed him to capably render all those deep bass notes.
As Rosina, Amy van Roekel seemed a bit unsure at times in the beginning, but gained in confidence as the evening progressed, her fine soprano soaring in the later arias. The servant girl Berta (of the multiple sneezes) was capably performed by mezzo Jessica Riley, one of Lyric’s Apprentices for this year.
Artistic Director Jonathon Field set a fairly brisk pace in his stage direction, allowing the action room to breathe, but not dragging. Conductor Francis Graffeo was given the bare minimum of an orchestra, which at times sounded even less than it was, basically one instrument to a part. However, it didn’t take long for the ears to become accustomed to the slender sound, and recognize all the familiar tunes.
The set design of Jean-Francois Revon was brightly colorful and versatile; whether in a street scene or an interior of Dr. Bartolo’s house. The costumes came from Utah Opera Company, designed by Susan Allred. Lighting Designer Jeremy Benjamin set the scenes marvelously from dawn to dusk, in or out, and even a storm near the end.
Oh, yes. And we mustn’t forget the horse, of course. Why exactly one would bring a horse into the drawing room was never explained. However, the gentle steed (courtesy of Kathy Young and The Party Pony, Inc.) was extremely well-behaved. It not only stood perfectly still—once in place—but perked up its ears when Almaviva came near, and closed its eyes when the tenor hugged its head and planted a kiss on the cheekbone! A slight stumble going down the risers to leave the stage did not mar the performance at all.
This season, Lyric Opera Cleveland is presenting three performances only of their three productions. Next up will be the musical comedy She Loves Me (the inspiration for the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’) on 7/6, 7/9 and 7/10. The Fall of the House of Usher with music by Philip Glass is 7/20, 7/23 and 7/24. For tickets or other information, visit their web-site: http://www.lyricoperacleveland.org.
Review by Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz ArtsWriterATAdelphia.net (:divend:)