Why is Washington National Operas Barber of Seville a snappy staging?”
Washington National Opera’s ‘Barber of Seville’ a snappy staging In case you missed it in print, or elsewhere on the paper’s Web site, I thought I should mention my review of Washington National Opera’s season-opening ‘Barber of Seville’ production finally saw the light of day. (The BSO gala was the same night as the first ‘Barber’ performance, so I was a little slow catching up with it.) The production is a snappy affair (literally, in one respect), and it does something few ‘Barbers’ do for me these days — provokes fresh laughs. And it’s a great opportunity to experience Lawrence Brownlee onstage, having a field day, vocally and theatrically, as Almaviva. In addition to his enormous talent, the tenor can’t help but be seen in symbolic terms, too. Few black tenors have performed major roles with major opera companies, so it’s doubly significant that Brownlee has been triumphing at the Met, La Scala, Vienna State Opera and elsewhere. The DC ‘Barber’ production also introduces a very i
