The Barber of Seville at Göteborg Opera, Main Stage

Finally we get to see again the artful fixer and barber Figaro, who helps his love-sick friend the Count Almaviva to win Rosina – his heart’s desire – in spite of her ageing guardian Doctor Bartolo doing everything in his power to commandeer her for himself. Clever practical jokes, false disguises and lively music ensure the action at breakneck speed, with four dancers and an unusually terpsichorean chorus spreading restlessness all around in their worn-out Czech fire brigade uniforms.

The plaudits have rained down on David Radok’s hilarious production of The Barber of Seville, now being staged for the fourth time at The Göteborg Opera following its premiere in 2000 and its revivals in 2002 and 2007. The same production was also staged during an acclaimed guest performance at the major opera festival in Aix-en-Provence in the summer of 2005.

Olof Boman conducts for the first time at The Göteborg Opera. In the role of the shrewd barber we once again find Åke Zetterström, while the beautiful Rosina is sung by Ida Falk Winland, who is well-known to audiences in Gothenburg following Julius Caesar and Alcina. In Alcina we could also savour the performance of Martin Vanberg, who now plays the Count Almaviva. The Göteborgs Opera’s own Markus Schwartz sings the lecherous Doctor Bartolo in this production.