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Review: The Barber of Seville

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini (Canadian Opera Company). Runs to May 22. $12-$424. 416-363-8231. See Continuing. Rating: NNN

There’s a smart bit of stage business right at the end of the Canadian Opera Company‘s production of The Barber Of Seville that stresses the dark underside of this comedy.

Too bad that subversive feel doesn’t come through more in Rossini‘s familiar tale of how enterprising barber Figaro (Joshua Hopkins) helps Count Almaviva (Alek Shrader) woo the young Rosina (Serena Malfi) from under her lecherous guardian’s nose.

Director Joan Font‘s production lacks spontaneity and doesn’t always make the comic beats land, but strong performances, eye-popping designs and lively choreography make it watchable.

His decision to draw on commedia dell’arte tradition is wise, but having a group of bumbling Three Stooges-type figures clutter the stage isn’t as smart, particularly when it distracts from an aria by Rosina’s governess, Berta (Aviva Fortunata).

But other sequences pay off nicely, and Shrader – especially when he’s disguised as music teacher Don Alonso to be with student Rosina – is hilariously nimble. The Figaro-Almaviva scenes have the cheerful swagger you’d find in a Judd Apatow movie the pair have an operatic bromance.

Joan Guillen‘s costumes are as colourful as anything you’d find in a Disney cartoon, while his set uses some see-through elements to add a bit of suspense.

The singers are generally fine: Hopkins a gregarious extrovert, Malfi characterful and stubborn and Shrader full of charm, even if his voice lacks the purity and flexibility needed for the role.

Renato Girolami and Robert Gleadow as Doctor Bartolo and Don Basilio are fine comic singers with booming voices and big presences.

What a shame that conductor Rory Macdonald lacks complete control in the pit. From the famous overture onwards, there’s not enough shape or sparkle to the playing. And that’s no joke.

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