This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the theatre. Why? Because the music was beautifully played, the singing almost uniformly strong, the humour genuine, and the dramatic performance lithe and confident.
We have seen this co-production with Grand Théâtre de Genève several times before with Welsh National Opera and it now appears very polished and refined.
Conducted by Kerem Hasan, the revival of Tobias Richter’s original production from Max Hoehn, is nothing special in terms of the conceptualization or even the setting but that is no bad thing. I suppose it may be seen that the characters in glorious Sue Blane designed period costume are set in a timeless and rather nondescript stage setting is in itself a conceit – the timelessness of the situations and emotions that the characters find themselves. transposing the story to any other time period; we were in full eighteenth-century mode.
It does mean that our attention is always on the singers (and musicians) rather than psychological summersaulting and head scratching.
Michael Mofidian looked rather dashing as Figaro and if anything had more gravitas than the haughty Count. Christina Gansch was both vocally and dramatically and appealing Susanna.
Wyn Pencarreg and Giorgio Caoduro
The Conte was performed by Giorgio Caoduro as the caricature randy Count who gets his comeuppance while Chen Reiss, his Countess who conspires with her maid to catch out the philandering husband, warmed into the role and was most memorable in her portrayal of a feisty and much more assertive Countess than we are normally presented with.
Chen Reiss
Wyn Pencarreg was Doctor Bartolo, Monika Sawa sang Marcellina and Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as Don Basilio played their roles for laughs without damaging the fine singing they each brought to the work.
Harriet Eyley was a fun and cheeky page Cherubino, and Eiry Price as a not so innocent Barbarina.
Kerem Hasan conducts at a sparkling pace although finding space and time to allow the key arias to breath. A little more relaxing into the score will probably come as the run develops.
We had the now customary save WNO campaign slogans as yet more cuts hit the cultural life of Wales, most shockingly now the slashing of entire departments including music at Cardiff University, the impact of such protest fades in the context of the even more horrific manifestations of Welsh Labour government policy towards (or against) the arts, and the humanities in education.
Main image: Michael Mofidian and Christina Gansch
Images Dafydd Owen.