If you have been familiar with the subtitled snippets of “Largo al factotum” from YouTube, well it has not covered much of the synopsis of The Barber of Seville. It managed to discuss who the Barber of Seville is all about though. A jack-of-all-trades assigned to solve problems in the community. Very much like the community barber in some street corners that I know of. Except that they won’t go as far as prescribing sneezing powder or some other medication. But the plot in The Barber of Seville is far from what some locals here would call “kwentong barbero” (barber tales).
Figaro’s disdain for one of his clients, Doctor Bartolo, is admitted in one of the scenes. And it’s mostly because he can’t fathom the idea of the doctor marrying his ward, Rosina, for the sake of attaining conjugal ownership. Rosina is implied as someone moneyed enough to be the subject of the doctor’s eagle-eyed watch. But the kind of constrictive guardianship he exuded over Rosina became the subject of some light-hearted moments. Light-hearted because Rosina as a young woman is a blast to watch at The Barber of Seville.
To paraphrase Rosina’s complain to Figaro in one scene, she is bored AF (or bored as F). The only occasional distraction she could get from this boredom is her suitor, Lindoro. It seems like only Lindoro is diligent enough to hire a band of musicians and sing by Rosina’s window. And the only one to pay an insider to gain access to Rosina. That guy is Figaro. Yes. His job as jack-of-all-trades in Doctor Bartolo’s household helped his friend get an idea and a motivation to have Rosina for himself.
So why have the title as The Barber of Seville? Because of the things that occurred in this opera are because of Figaro’s machinations. While most lovers in other operas (and most local soap operas) are dependent on fate or fortune, the fate of Lindoro and Rosina depended on the efficiency of Figaro as a matchmaker. There might be a little twist at the end how Figaro simply had to “throw the dice” and wait-and-see. Because at times, no matter smooth the plans go, some glitches will happen along the way.
Were there other glitches in this production? Please be informed that I don’t have a problem with the vocal performance found here. Happy to see a production that is based on the period that it is trying to portray. Remember that in The Barber of Seville, the lack of technology made the characters reliant on letters and hearsay. So it gets awhile before everyone discovers who is that Count Almaviva that Doctor Bartolo and Don Basilio are so concerned with. It doesn’t say nor imply whether Rosina is of noble birth too. But she’s eyed by the Count.
If not for Beverly Sills, I would not have realized how challenging the role of Rosina must have been. Yes, my knowledge of The Barber of Seville used to be limited to Googling versions of "Una voce poco fa" and "Largo al factotum" online without getting to see a complete production online. Of course, other characters were just as challenging. Henry Price as Lindoro and Alan Titus as Figaro were satisfactory in their respective roles. But Sills' singing served 2 purposes in portaying Rosina. One is to push the story forward as in most belcanto roles. Two is to distract Doctor Bartolo from noticing how Rosina is flirting with Don Alfonso. With all of the trills and the runs that she exuded, both purposes were achieved.
As for existing copies of this production, there was one found on Amazon in VHS form. Not much of an explanation as to why there is no DVD version. Hence, most fans of The Barber of Seville end up watching the YouTube clip complete with subtitles. Quite difficult to find one production uploaded online with English subtitles. Still, a memorable production that is not afraid to go over the top. Hope that you’d enjoy watching it the same way that I did. Tips are more than welcome by clicking the “Donate” button below. Thanks for reading.
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