The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Dt. 29 Març 2016, De (2016/2016), Dirigit per Sam Brown,, Director musical James Southall, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, United Kingdom

The young Count Almaviva has fallen in love with Rosina, the ward of Doctor Bartolo. Bartolo keeps Rosina locked away and plans to marry her and claim her inheritance. The Count wants to win Rosina’s love on his own terms, and keeps his identity and wealth a secret, disguising himself as ‘Lindoro,’ a poor student. With the help of Figaro, a local barber, Almaviva enters Doctor Bartolo’s house disguised as a drunken soldier – but the ensuing commotion scuppers his plans. Undeterred, the Count poses as ‘Don Alonso’, a music master summoned as a replacement for Don Basilio, Rosina’s usual singing tutor. The young couple make plans to elope, but they are overheard by Bartolo. Don Basilio appears unexpectedly, and the two men conclude that ‘Alonso’ must be the Count Almaviva in disguise. Bartolo tells Rosina that ‘Lindoro’ plans to abduct her in order to take her to Count Almaviva. She is heartbroken, and agrees to marry her guardian, Dr Bartolo. Almaviva returns to elope with Rosina in secret and reveals his true identity. The young couple bribe Don Basilio into witnessing their wedding, and Doctor Bartolo is defeated once and for all. The pace is fast and never lets up from the start. Everyone is carried along by a whirlwind of crazy disguises, twists and turns and unlikely interventions. Barber opens with one of the best loved of all overtures, full of wit and playfulness. Figaro lets us know he is society’s problem solver in the great comic aria, ‘Largo al factotum’. Rosina’s sparkling aria ‘Una voce poco fa’ makes it very clear that she’s not someone you’d want to mess with. We have assembled an exceptional cast of comic performers including the peerless Andrew Shore as the greedy Doctor Bartolo. This is our first new production of The Barber of Seville for nearly 30 years. It is the perfect opportunity to bask in the warmth and sunniness of this ultimate feel-good opera with a sparkling new translation by Kelley Rourke.