Energetic cast brightens up the Met’s tired-looking Barbiere

Davide Luciano (Figaro)

Alexander Vinogradov (Don Basilio) and Nicola Alaimo (Doctor Bartolo)

Isabel Leonard (Rosina) and Davide Luciano (Figaro)

Lawrence Brownlee (Count Almaviva), Isabel Leonard (Rosina) and Davide Luciano (Figaro)

Lawrence Brownlee (Count Almaviva) and Alexander Vinogradov (Don Basilio)

By Susan Stempleski, 16 April 2025

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“strutting the stage with aplomb, singing with self-assurance and enthusiasm”

Reviewed at Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on 15 April 2025

Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia

Metropolitan Opera

Giacomo Sagripanti, Conductor

Bartlett Sher, Director

Michael Yeargan, Set Designer

Catherine Zuber, Costume Designer

Christopher Akerlind, Lighting Designer

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

The Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Isabel Leonard, Rosina

Lawrence Brownlee, Count Almaviva

Davide Luciano, Figaro

Nicola Alaimo, Dr Bartolo

Alexander Vinogradov, Don Basilio

Kathleen O'Mara, Berta

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David Wolfson, 22nd May

Deborah Colker and her design team create visually vibrant worlds for the Met’s new production of El último sueño de Frida y Diego, by Pulitzer Prize winner Gabriela Lena Frank.

*****

Asmik Grigorian strengthens the Met’s revival of Eugene Onegin

Susan Stempleski, 20th April

The Lithuanian soprano’s riveting performance as the central character in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece lights up Deborah Warner’s mostly bland production.

****1

Innocence: Saariaho’s final opera receives New York premiere

Kurt Gottschalk, 6th April

At the Metropolitan Opera, Innocence proves a gripping and perhaps divisive piece which feels real because it is a reflection of our reality, with no realistic hope of finding peace.

*****

Tristan und Isolde at the Met: staging gets in the way of the music

No’a L. bat Miri, 9th March

Michael Spyres shines in his debut as Tristan alongside powerhouse soprano Lise Davidsen as Isolde in Yuval Sharon's new, beguiling production at the Metropolitan Opera.

***11

Ailyn Pérez is the perfect Butterfly in the Met’s revival

Robert Levine, 13th January

Good Butterflys are not that difficult to come by but great ones are very very rare. Ailyn Pérez fits the bill in this revival of Anthony Minghella’s classic staging.

*****

Vocal thrills in Met’s traditional staging of Bellini’s I puritani

Susan Stempleski, 31st December

Marco Armiliato conducts a finely balanced rendition of Bellini's final masterpiece with a stellar cast headed by Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee.

*****

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Susan Stempleski

Based in New York City, Susan is a retired specialist in second and foreign language teaching and the author/editor of several professional books for language teachers and many widely used textbooks for English language learners around the world. An avid concertgoer, she spends her time attending operas and other classical music events in New York and Paris. Since 2002, she has regularly published reviews on Classical Source. A keen Francophile, she has a particularly strong interest in French music, literature and film.

Energetic cast and conductor brighten up the Met’s tired-looking Barbiere