2h 40min | Music | Episode aired 3 December 1988
TV Director: Brian Large
Ralf Weikert ... conductor
John Cox ... production: stagehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255830/
First performed 1816.
The great music of the overture is used to terrific effect in Rabbit of Seville ('50, Short, dir. Jones) with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and those images (and some lyrics) run through my mind as the orchestra plays here. That music recurs in the opera when Figaro introduces himself to the audience (they break the 4th wall a lot) in Act 1, ch6; I don't think about the bunny then. Figaro has some tongue-twisting lyrics, as do other characters during the opera.
Cast:
Leo Nucci ... Figaro, the barber
Kathleen Battle ... Rosina, the doctor's ward
Rockwell Blake ... Il conte d'Almaviva
Enzo Dara ... Dr. Bartolo
Ferruccio Furlanetto ... Don Basilio, music teacher, intriguer
Loretta Di Franco ... Berta (as Loretta di Franco), doctor's housekeeper
David Hamilton ... Fiorello, count's servant
The best of this production is KB. What a sweet, soft voice she has. She manages to project to the house without appearing forced or screaming. Plus she's so pretty; hard to believe she's already 40 that year. (If IMDb is correct, and recall that I had to enter 1 of the operas I bought into the Db, she has only 7 full-opera performances recorded.)
The Doctor provides lots of comedy with his face and body language, in addition to his excellent singing.
The Count is a pompous and naive, which is why he needs Figaro to guide him. Both have good voices too, of course.
The production is drab. The turntable of sets is fun, but the colors are all terribly muted and the lighting gives everything a sepia/yellow cast. Where is it written that opera, especially comic opera, must be true to the period of the tale?
Good TV directing for camera angles/distances. You really see the Count and the Doctor sweating, and the Count was breathing very heavily after one aria in Act 2.
This production gives me no clue as to why this opera is so oft performed. It's tepid comedy with no wisdom, no slapstick, no romance (despite what they lyrics say). They use a lot of harpsichord for recitative; recall Mozart operas date to 1780's & 90's and I didn't hear much harpsichord in the productions I viewed recently. At 2:40 this is a moderate length opera, but it seemed long, even with the break to change discs.
BTW, Figaro wears a wedding ring, but no mention of his sposa.
Recommended for music & KB.
Metropolitan Opera, cond. Weikert; 7
