FULL IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA Klosterneuburg 1998 Ingrid Hofer, Carsten Süß, Marian Pop, Andreas Schagerl, Steffen Rössler
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Il barbiere di Siviglia ossia L'inutile precauzione
- Composer: Gioachino Rossini
- Libretto: Cesare Sterbini based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Kaiserhof des Stiftes Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Recorded: July 1998
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Ingrid Hofer, Carsten Süß, Marian Pop, Andreas Schagerl, Steffen Rössler, Adele Haas, William Mason, Walter Wegscheider, Martin Förster, Willi Narowetz
- Conductor: Guido Mancusi
- Orchestra: Konzertorchester Budapest
- Chorus Master: Johannes Hiemetsberger
- Stage Director: Henry Mason
- Stage Designer: Judith Leikauf, Karl Fehringer
- Costume Designer: Elisabeth Neururer
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Marian Pop
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Unknown
- Quality Video: 2 Audio:2
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
“The atmosphere in the baroque Imperial Court of the Klosterneuburg Abbey is cheerful and exuberant – and extremely skillful. A young, enthusiastic team has dared to tackle Rossini’s opera buffa, and the result – the premiere of the “Barber of Seville” at the Summer Games – is impressive and let it be heard.
Directed by Henry Mason – a name to remember. A talent with the necessary feeling for the right timing when setting punchlines: Mason has amazing ideas, for example when Count Almaviva disguised as a music teacher Alonso comes along like Elton John, or when the Count in love disguised as “Lindoro” with his adored Rosina puts a brisk Charleston on the floor. But he sprinkles these gags with a light hand, never intrusive and never rolled out too broadly. A surprise is served here, you recognize the fun, are happy, laugh – and then it’s over again. And so the flow of the comedic action is never disruptively interrupted. Mason is not a narcissistic man himself, but he always serves the work, with all his effortless originality.
He is supported by a likeable group of young singers, almost all of whom know how to play wonderfully. The overriding focus of the action is Marian Pop in the title role. The baritone of the State and Volksoper copes best with the less than ideal acoustic conditions of the open-air stage, it is a pleasure to listen to and watch him. A thoroughbred comedian with a fresh voice that is always fully present.
An equally pleasing performance can be reported from the Linz soprano Ingrid Hofer as Rosina, Steffen Rössler as her guardian Dr. Bartolo and William Mason as the music teacher Basilio do a good job, with the Basilio actor in particular having great comic talent. The sympathetic tenor Carsten Süss as Almaviva is not a count’s daredevil, but a boy who is head over heels in love and also vocally delicate. However, the recitatives – with piano accompaniment by the conductor – don’t quite work out that way. The spatial distance between the stage and the gentleman at the podium is a bit too big.
Otherwise there is nothing wrong with Guido Mancusi’s lively conducting, which allows the musicians of the Budapest Concert Orchestra to play animatedly. The male choir alone is not exactly one of the plus points of this production, which can also be experienced in a children’s version – with Folke Tegetthoff – on July 26th.”