A BARBER OF SEVILLE PROPELLED BY THE SINGING OF ITS LEADS
Rossini, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE: Edward Nelson (Figaro), Julie Boulianne (Rosina), Isaiah Bell (Count Almaviva), Thomas Goerz (Dr. Bartolo), Taehyun Jun (Don Basilio), Vancouver Opera Chorus (dir. By Leslie Dala), Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Nathan Brock (conductor), Ashlie Corcoran (director), Ken MacDonald (set design), Kimberley Putrell (lighting design), Dana Osborne (costume design), Queen Elizabeth Theatre, February 13, 2020.
All photos by Tim Matheson
A successful performance of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville demands beautiful singing grounded in evenness of tone and impeccable delivery of text, coupled with a light-handed comedic sensibility that eschews gratuitous buffoonery and slapstick. Vancouver Opera’s new production of this Italian comic masterpiece satisfied both requirements, benefitting strongly from the dark-toned and agile voices of baritone Edward Nelson as Figaro and mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne as Rosina. It carefully avoided the puerile humor and abject clowning that marred the company’s Hollywood backlot Barber of 2012. Director Ashlie Corcoran delivered fast-paced and uncluttered storytelling that focused on the relationships between the principal characters and allowed the singers to develop a natural, unforced chemistry. One limitation was that the subsidiary cast was variable in quality, but there were plenty of coloratura fireworks from the two leads to keep the audience satisfied and the Vancouver Opera Chorus and Orchestra performed with sparkle and enthusiasm.
Edward Nelson projects a sense of joyous spontaneity in his performance of the title role. His tone is full and resonant across his entire range and he is equally intelligible in recitatives, arias and ensembles. I would have appreciated a slightly slower tempo and greater clarity in the concluding lines of his entrance aria, ‘Largo al factotum,’ but otherwise his command of Rossini’s taxing vocal writing is superb. Nelson’s movements on stage are not merely elegant, they are positively balletic: his gestures are all melded into a fluid, dance-like motion that likely makes the deportment of his colleagues look stiff by comparison. Indeed, at times his formidable presence and charisma seemed to upstage everyone around him, as if the rest of the cast were merely an accompaniment to his Paganini-esque virtuosity.
Julie Boulianne is arguably the finest vocal technician of the cast, possessing a rich timbre, excellent projection and a masterful ease in the execution of the most demanding coloratura. Her cavatina, ‘Una voce poco fa,’ was an apt demonstration not only of vocal pyrotechnics but also of sensitive musicianship and intelligent use of ornamentation. Boulianne’s interpretation of Rosina tended to stress the character’s willfulness and determination, sometimes at the expense of her innocence and vulnerability, yet she remained an engaging and sympathetic stage presence throughout.
Other singing yielded more mixed results. Isaiah Bell has a pleasing tenor voice, and his even tone and clear phrasing are well-suited to the role of Almaviva. There were a few moments of uncertain intonation in some of his florid passages in the first scene of Act I, and his acting was initially a little inhibited, but he certainly found his stride by the second scene. Bell was at his best in the episodes where Almaviva was disguised as a drunken soldier or singing teacher – one of high points of dramatic intrigue in the opera. Here his natural sense of physical comedy and mimicry shone forth and resulted in a performance of playfulness and charm. Thomas Goerz’s Dr. Bartolo and Taehyun Jun’s Don Basilio were weaker. Goerz’s histrionic skills were not matched by his singing, which was curiously uneven: his tone was fuller in his upper register and in broader phrases, but suffered elsewhere. Though Maestro Brock may have set too fast a tempo, the rapid patter section of ‘A un dottor delle mia sorte’ was not really audible or intelligible – despite the orchestra’s strenuous attempts to control its volume. Taehyun Jun seemed laboured in his pronunciation, phrasing and acting. Every musical phrase was accompanied by some grimace or gesture, as if he were striving for effect with each individual word at the expense of continuity of line.
The members of the chorus demonstrated their versatility and keen sense of timing in executing the choreographed portions of the crowd scenes, such as the mock-serenade at the start of Act I and the regiment of dancing and gesticulating soldiers in the finale of the same act. Only occasionally did their stage absorption distract from their attention to the conductor, resulting in a few moments of ragged ensemble. The balance of voices and instruments was mostly good, except at the end of the Act I finale, where the anvil-like percussion effects nearly drowned out the solo and choral voices. The very fine buildup of excitement at this point surely compensated. There were a few passages where conductor Nathan Brock might have chosen a slower tempo: the rapid patter sections of Figaro’s ‘Largo al factotum’ and Dr. Bartolo’s aria mentioned above.
The action and stage direction were basically faithful to the spirit and letter of librettist Cesare Sterbini’s adaptation of Pierre Beaumarchais’s famous play. Efficient in its motion, the production was refreshingly free of the glibness and excess adornment of many postmodern interpretations, and while it did not skimp on humour, it avoided the more infantile, crowd-pleasing attempts that often plague contemporary operatic staging. The set and costume designs did not exactly evoke 18th century Seville, but they were sufficiently attractive and versatile to allow the drama to be convincing. The slightly surrealistic building designs seemed to suggest the influence of the German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, or even the artwork of Dr. Seuss, but it was indeed a delightful surprise to discover that this dreamlike visual style could beautifully complement the madcap and irreverent humor of Rossini’s opera.
Though revealing some vocal limitations, this Barber can be counted as a genuine success, led by the outstanding contributions of leads Edward Nelson and Julie Boulianne. I might add that a recent trip to see UBC’s production of The Passenger reminds me forcibly that there is no shortage of exciting vocal talent available locally to flesh out Vancouver Opera’s supporting casts.
© Nicolas Krusek 2020