George Hall 

The Barber of Seville

Coliseum, London
  
  

The Barber of Seville
Alison Roddy as Rosina in The Barber of Seville Photograph: Public domain

Now 18 years old, Jonathan Miller's production of The Barber of Seville has enough positive fixtures to keep it jogging along in ENO's repertoire for season after season. Tanya McCallin's period designs present an amiable comic-opera vision of 18th-century Seville, and the Holden and Holden translation hits the spot. It is the variables, however, in each revival that make it either tolerably entertaining or a sheer delight, and this time it is closer to the latter. For a start, it is snappily conducted by Dominic Wheeler, who sends the elegant score tripping out into the auditorium.

The casting of the mezzo role, Rosina, as a soprano (sung here by Alison Roddy) is unusual these days. In times gone by it was regularly purloined by the higher voice, which is apt to turn a character intended as warm if manipulative into one that is brittle and charmless. Roddy doesn't entirely avoid the danger - and doesn't always land securely on the notes - but she is mostly efficient. Robert Pomakov's Basilio doesn't field quite the weight, vocal or dramatic, to give his character a memorable presence, but with leading buffo Andrew Shore as Don Bartolo, the comedy takes off and, unlike in some of Shore's recent roles, he keeps it within bounds. In fact, this is a classic portrayal, inventive and brilliantly executed.

Charles Workman keeps on his toes as the Count, and is respectably fluent with all the notes Rossini gives him. Mark Stone hurls good nature, energy and voice at Figaro, pushing him to the centre of attention, even with stiff competition from Shore. Mary Lloyd-Davies delivers a strongly sung account of the maid Berta's aria, raising a secondary character's profile by a couple of notches, and there's an adept Fiorello from William Berger.

But it is the sheer intelligence of Miller's staging that provides the platform for these contributions, with revival director William Relton adding a few neat gags of his own.

· Until March 19. Box office: 020-7632 8300.

 

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