This is a marvelously jazzy and funny re-telling of the story of
the famous singing barber - Figaro. Moved into the present, the action
takes place entirely within Figaro's barber shop and the
imaginary places within the new opera he's writing. It's a
jazz opera, and he convinces his customers to take roles
in his experiment, and guides them through the plot. That's
easier said than done, since the actors have ideas of their own
on how things should run.
One critic said:
This particular Barber of Seville is certainly not opera, although it
borrows from opera and pokes affectionate fun at it, and it's not strictly
jazz or comedy although it swings and amuses. There's a broad hint
in the finale, when the five-member company sings "Let the Music Take You."
It does - from aria to scat and many interesting places in between. |
