So reads the headline of Janos Gerberen’s rave review of Fremont Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at San Francisco Classical Voice. He did not mention the chorus other than to say that we were not large, but there were only 5 of us and we were on stage for maybe 15 minutes. My friends thought we sounded and looked good.
This was the best mix of outstanding singing and really funny comedy that I have been privileged to participate in. The cast was really strong in all the different roles. Thanks to everyone who attended! The audiences were great, with the Friday audience laughing from the very first jokes during Eleazar’s orchestral serenade.
I’ve performed in Sweeney Todd too, so I tried to think of interesting potential mash-ups along the lines of the review title. But these two works are about as far removed from each other in spirit as you can get! The world could use more top-notch comic operas these days.