“The Barber of Seville,” San Francisco Opera’’s charming opener of the summer season, is a Rossini gem about power plays, class machinations and love — with love, naturally, winning the game. Thursday’s opening performance conducted by Benjamin Manis — more about large voices than vocal agility and dramatic ensemble — captured Rossini’s drive and bravura style and delighted the audience.
The production, double cast, is a revival of Spanish director Emilio Sagi’s 2013 high-energy staging, a co-production presented by San Francisco Opera and Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Written in just under two weeks, the comedy, one of the most performed operas worldwide, tells the tale of Figaro, a crafty village Barber who brings the noble Count Almaviva and the lively and rebellious Rosina together in spite of a disagreeable guardian who is determined to marry her.
On opening night, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins proves a thinking man’s Figaro. No vocal bluster or asides, his voice is small for the role, but with a commanding stage presence he gets right to the point as he plots to free Rosina (German mezzo-soprano Maria Kataeva), from her belligerent guardian.
Kataeva, a super rebellious Rosina with bright high lines and a good measure of vocal bombast, and South African tenor Levy Sekgapane as Count Almaviva, top the cast. Kataeva’s voice has energy to spare; Sekgapane, with his honeyed if somewhat hooded tenor, is commanding, whether wooing Rosina, appearing as an intoxicated soldier or her brassy music teacher, tossing off notable coloratura flights at the opera’s end.
Gruff-voiced Italian baritone Renato Girolami as Rosina’s tyrannical guardian Doctor Bartolo and bass Riccardo Fassi as her music teacher Don Basilio walk away with the show more than once. Their fussy duet is Rossini perfection, and Adler Fellow Mary Hoskins standing in for Catherine Cook as the housekeeper Berta, steals hearts with her robust voice and comic presence.
Manis’ generally well-paced conducting and Sagi’s understated staging allows this fast-paced “Figaro” to breathe, and with Gary Marder’s lighting, especially the fireworks at the finale and Llorenç Corbella’s sets, which include a flashy 1971 Morgan getaway car, the production works like a charm, start to finish.
Alternating in the lead roles are Justin Austin as Figaro, Hongni Wu as Rosina, Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva and Patrick Carfizzi as Doctor Bartolo.
San Francisco Opera’s “The Barber of Seville” continues at 7:30 p.m. June 3, June 5 (live streams), June 9, June 12 and June 13 and 2 p.m. June 6 and June 20-21 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Tickets are $20 to $447 at sfopera.com.
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