The Barber of Seville, London Coliseum ***

Jonathan Miller's production of the Rossinni classic comedy is almost 30 years old. Now in it's twelfth revival, the traditional and simple staging is looking dated. Unlike John Copley's Boheme, Tanya McCallin's design has no real punch or artistic impact. There is nothing dynamic or alive about the staging and is in dire need of revitalisation. And yet I left the Coliseum with a firm smile on my face. From the overture to the curtain call, Rossinni's music delights and entertains and, thanks to Christopher Allen's colourful and emotive conducting, provides a musically satisfying evening. This is helped by some extremely talented singers. Anyone who can sing this opera deserves high praise and for this group of singers to inject the energy they do is quite remarkable. Morgan Pearse's Figaro is playful and fun whilst Eleazar Rodriguez is a forlorn as the Count yet delivers hilarious accents whilst maintaining top musical standards. It is a rather large step for the audience to believe that he is the love of Lathryn Rudge's Rosina yet the magic of opera let you believe it for the duration. Rudge, however, steals the show. From Una voce poco fa, she gives a wit and a defiance to Rosina along with an incredible tone of voice. This is helped by Amanda and Anthony Holden's witty libretto which feels fresh and far from the stuffy operatic text we have come to expect. Andrew Shore is also notable as the antagonist Dr Bartolo whose fast tongue masters the tricky and fast paced score. The cast and music shine here in a production that needs to be put out of it's misery.