Stellar second cast continues the bel canto delights in Met’s “Barber of Seville”
The Metropolitan Opera has struck gold twice this season with Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. A star-studded cast of Met favorites, led by Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, and Davide Luciano, launched the season’s revival of Bartlett Sher’s 2006 production last month. There was a new cast on Thursday evening, different in many ways, but equally winning. The icing on the cake was the Met debut of Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva.
In the first act, Swanson seemed as intent on securing the perfect alignment of his voice as creating a character. His singing in “Ecco, ridente in cielo” was proper, without quite melting the heart. The tenor started to kick into full gear in his guise as the drunken soldier, barging his way into Dr. Bartolo’s house. After intermission, Swanson emerged relaxed and funny as Don Alonso, with his voice in full bloom, but the best was yet to come.
Standing front and center on the walkway wrapping around the orchestra into the house, Swanson sang a sensational “Cessa di più resistere.” He dispatched the aria’s treacherous coloratura with lightness, ease, and accuracy, topping the soaring phrases with clear, ringing high notes. The longest and loudest ovation of the night followed, which a beaming Swanson ultimately stilled with his right hand. A new tenor is in town.
In her Met role debut, mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina was an equally dazzling Rosina, full of fun and cunning. The plummy depths of her alluring voice are as enticing as the roulades, trills, and high notes she dispatched with aplomb. She has the remarkable ability to laugh while singing the most florid of runs. Akhmetshina’s “Una voce poco fa” was a delight, but her singing throughout the Lesson Scene was sublime. For those who saw her as Carmen two seasons back, Akhmetshina’s Rosina proved a revelation.
Andrey Zhilikhovsky’s earthy Figaro is a man who gets things done. Sitting atop the cart that serves as Figaro’s mobile emporium, Zhilikhovsky sang a full-voiced “Largo al factotum della città”, which had a decidedly dangerous air, seldom heard in the bravura entrance aria. His voice was as lithe as his movements, tripping effortlessly through Rossini’s delicious ensembles, especially in “Zitti, zitti, piano piano” where Rosina, Almaviva, and Figaro plan their quick, and ultimately futile, escape from Dr Bartolo’s house.
Bass-baritone Peter Kálmán was also making his Met debut as Dr. Bartolo. Kálmán gave a richly detailed performance, illuminating the pomposity and drollness of Rosina’s guardian, who seeks to make his ward into his wife. Vocally, he was just as sure, with his ensemble work as impressive as his ego-inflated “A un dottor della mia sorte.”
Alexander Vinogradov was a cunning, lethal, but funny Don Basilio. His chilling “La calunnia è un venticello” left no doubt that words could be as lethal as any weapon. Dressed in identical costumes with outrageous hats as Don Basilio and Don Alonso, Vinogradov and Swanson engaged in hijinks worthy of the Marx Brothers.
Jay Dunn’s bedraggled, befuddled Ambrogio prompted laughter at every turn, as did Jonghyun Park’s Officer, who shivered in fear at the sight of Count Almaviva. Joseph Lim was a vivid Fiorello, whose forthright baritone dominated the opening scene. Sneezing her way through the performance, Kathleen O’Mara brought a more subtle comedic touch to Berta, topping off “Il vecchiotto cerca moglie” with some glorious high notes.
Giacomo Sagripanti, who made his Met debut with this run, led the Met Orchestra in a performance that was as light, witty, and fast-paced as any of the onstage patter. There was a full house for this performance. It will be a hot ticket for the rest of the run.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia continues through June 5. metopera.org
Posted May 31, 2025 at 6:29 pm by Sandra Factor
We (husband and I) saw the stage performance with first cast. (We have seen this opera over 20 years). Great performance.
This second cast was terrific, which we saw on Live in HD, in a small town when we live in CT. Please continue the Live in HD!!! We will continue to see as much as we can in live performance, but please continue to let us enjoy the Live in HD if we can’t make it into NYC.
Posted Jun 01, 2025 at 12:53 pm by Ursula wilson
What a wonderful performance, the scenery, the acting and above all the singing. I am an opera fan and when I was living in NY went to the Met many times. Now living in CT. I am so happy and thankful that we can get the performances of the Met at the Kate in Old Saybrook. I saw a wonderful Salome the other day. I have hardly missed any of the operas presented.
Thanks to Peter Gelb I can discuss all the operas shown with my opera friends in Germany and Switzerland.