WNO The Barber of Seville - Milton Keynes Theatre 

Rossini's score for The Barber of Seville fizzes with life and wit and with the extra material to generate more laughs, it just makes this production more of a triumph!

The Welsh National Opera's new production by director Sam Brown's with Kelley Rouke's English translation of Sterbini's original 1816 libretto is an updated, no holes barred translation that ensures that this production of The Barber of Seville is nothing short of brilliant.

Featuring Ralph Koltai's striking sets, this staging shows no shortage of colour - the traditional barber pole strips echoed within the costumes.

The opening is a visual feast - the well known overture is accompanied by a balletic display of giant scissors snipping away in perfect unison with the chorus all clad in black.



This version of The Barber of Seville combines both warmth and wit.  A memorable moment is the slow motion brawl, with the chorus arriving on stage in drag brandishing rolling pins and saucepans - in a very Monty Python esque way.  It had the desired effect on the audience, with instantaneous laughter igniting around the auditorium.

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 very unlikely interventions.

The Barber opens with one of the best loved of all overtures, with Figaro (Nicholas Lester) letting us the audience know he is societies problem solver. The lovely Rosina (Claire Booth) does well, however her lower range didn't project at all, which was a shame.

The sophistication of the singing was superb throughout although I felt that the translation to English meant that some of the arias were "lost in translation".

With James Southall conducting, the pace of the music never falters, keeping up well with the mayhem on stage.

At times it seemed more of a musical than opera, however, the production was very much appreciated by the audience.

Bravo WNO!

Lily B x