Barber of Seville

My standard version of Il barbiere is the 1958 Callas-Gobbi production for Walter Legge, so I was anxious to see this film with a young Tito playing the factotum della città.

Almaviva is sung by Ferruccio Tagliavini, who is just a name in the historic recordings section to me. According to James Anderson and his dictionary, he is "the leading Italian tenore di grazia of the immediate postwar period". He certainly has an attractive sound. But his rendition of "Ecco ridente" sounds a little idiosyncratic, shall we say, to me, although I can't quite describe how.

Absolutely none of the sound in this film was recorded live, not even the recitativo. I assume that that was standard procedure for Italian opera films of this period. There is no attempt to add incidental sound effects to match the mise en scène. Accurate lip-synching is also not a priority. The emphasis is on beautiful singing, and of course that's fine with me.

The viewer waits anxiously for Gobbi's entrance. Figaro first appears as a giant silhouette against a wall. Gobbi swings his guitar around as though he's never encountered one before. He is in great voice however. Gobbi manages to sing (on the soundtrack) and have a drink from the fontana in the piazza at one and the same time! He handles his "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro ..." in a wacky way that reminded me of Lawrence Tibbett. Very different from his 1958 approach.

Nelly Corradi sings Rosina, and she is lovely, especially in profile. She begins "Una voce poco fa" gazing into a mirror whilst seated at her dressing table. Rosina keeps a pet cockatoo! A silent one.

Don Basilio's "La calunnia" is quite funny. The part is sung by Italo Tajo, "an outstanding singing-actor, particularly in comedy" (Anderson again).

The film is very enjoyable generally with good finales at the end of the first two acts. (They are actually called tempi, not atti.)

The director, Mario Costa, does not intrude very often. This film is no "Tales of Hoffmann". Costa does take the opportunity though to move the camera around a bit during the storm scene in Act III (il terzo tempo).

There was a big disappointment lying in wait for me at the end of the film however. Not surprisingly, the opera ends with my personal favourite, "Di sì felice innesto", as always. Sort of.

They sing as far as the first "Si vegga in voi regnar". But the duet and solos for Rosina and Almaviva are gone! And the final tutti is missing. It leaves you feeling as though you've just been whacked on the head with Figaro's guitar.

Il Barbiere Di Siviglia is my personal favourite of Rossini's operas, which I always find fun to watch and charming to hear. I think people will love this production, especially when it's performed and sung so brilliantly. The cuts may bother some though, the opera is abbreviated to 93 minutes. I personally found it tastefully done, but the omission of the florid section of Almaviva's first aria and the abbreviation of the final ensemble were quite glaring and lamented. The production values are excellent though, simple and elegant and it actually looks(and feels) like an actual performance when it was done as a studio production. The camera work concentrates on the performers and the drama and never diverts into self-indulgence or shots of irrelevant things. The editing and sound is decent enough, though we still get the sense that we are watching a nearly 70 year old opera film. That's not necessarily bad though, if anything it's part of the charm. The staging allows the delightful comedy to sparkle, I liked how Una Voce Poca Fa was staged and Bartolo had the funniest moments. Musically it is also top notch, with vibrant orchestral playing, a chorus that is animated and nicely blended and wholly competent conducting from Giuseppe Morelli. Tito Gobbi here is youthful and in great voice, not the most powerful or beautiful of timbres but flexible, lively and intelligently phrased with impeccable musicianship. He was a wonderful actor, one of the best in terms of singing-acting actually, and even before taking on much heavier roles like Scarpia and Rigoletto there is evidence of that. Nelly Corradi is a wholly charming and sparkling Rosina, with a bright evenly produced colouratura-soprano voice, and while Ferruccio Tagliavini is a stolid actor his velvety voice is perfectly ardent for Almaviva. Vito De Taranto's Bartolo is deliciously pompous and his comic timing is outrageously funny, he handles his patter song very well too. Italo Tajo is zany and imposing as Basilio, singing with sly delivery and vocal nuance. In conclusion, a classic production though not entirely ideal for those who don't like cuts. 9/10 Bethany Cox