The reviews for The Barber of Seville are in and it is a hit! Read excerpts from the reviews below and click on the title to read the full review. While you are here, please share your thoughts about the production by commenting below, and don’t forget to check back throughout the week to read all of the reviews of The Barber of Seville.
Libby Hanssen in The Kansas City Star:
Lyric caps stellar season with a bravura ‘Barber’
“…the production, a sumptuous visual palette that combined period touches with surreal sequences…breezy, enjoyable romp.”
Nihan Yesil of KCMetropolis.org:
Rossini’s madcap “Barber”
“The Lyric Opera of Kansas City closes its first season at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on a high note with a smart and entertaining production of Rossini’s masterpiece ‘The Barber of Seville.’…It was comic opera at its best.”
Paul Horsley of The Independent:
Lyric Opera concludes season with witty, attractive production
“This wittiest of comedies formed a fitting conclusion to what may have been the Lyric Opera’s most distinguished season so far – its first in the Kauffman Center…”
Tim Russell of KCStage.com:
The Greatest Thing You’ve Probably Already Missed
This post will be updated as the reviews come in.
To do justice to a difficult and beautiful masterpiece is no small feat. The Lyric cast did exactly that with this, by far the best work of the new season. The aliens have asked for more Chuck Berry, but we like Rossini..
Excellent production, in a beautiful theater, but a few things made me go ‘hmm?’ Berta’s aria was missing! During both ‘Ecco ridente’ and ‘Una voce poco fa’, when soaring vocals were expected, there was instead a beat or two of silence…and the song picked up again just past the absent crescendo. Do these young singers lack confidence? They shouldn’t; they certainly are capable. Brian Anderson is no Luigi Alva, but he has a beautiful tenor and knows how to use it. Sandra Piques Eddy also has a lovely voice, but I was surprised at the overall inelegance of her carriage. She is a beautiful, statuesque woman, but often affects unrefined postures (elbow on table, chin in hand?) and at times even seems to slouch.
Kevin Burdette as Dr. Bartolo stole the show and was hilarious throughout.
The slow motion fight scene was inventive and impossible to take in all at once. I wish I had a recording of it!
Overall, bravo!
I agree . It was the best of the season. I loved it. Looking forward to next year!