Edmonton OperaThe Barber of Seville“Light, physically playful direction”

Edmonton Opera opened its 63rd season with Rossini’s comedy, The Barber of Seville.

In the past few years, the company has mounted its shows intermittently at the Jubilee Auditorium, its traditional home, and most of its productions have been versions of the opera canon, sometimes significantly reworked as to barely resemble the conventional take on the original. Not so with this production, which drew a full house of roughly 1,800. The robust crowd may have indicated the community’s pent-up interest in seeing opera as it used to be presented, and they got what they came for.

Calgary Opera presented The Barber of Seville in April, and this production used its set and costumes. The vivid colours of Heather Moore’s costumes were particularly striking. In the opening act, Figaro (Korin Thomas-Smith) wore a largely pink outfit in the style of a toreador; he turned up in an even more elaborate pink outfit later. Rosina (Tessa Fackelmann), too, was dressed in costumes that also featured pink, as did Count Almaviva’s (John Tessier) garb.

The liveliness of this visual effect was also reflected in the light, physically playful direction of Anna Theodosakis. Characters danced the way characters in TV commercials do, pitching products that aren’t immediately associated with physical exuberance. Any music was a good excuse to move about rhythmically.

Edmonton Opera prides itself on its emerging artists program, out of which it drew several of the principals for this production. Fackelmann won the company’s 2024 Rumbold Vocal Prize, and her Rosina featured far more than an excellent recital singer. Fackelmann demonstrated genuine authority in her portrayal of a young, self-assured woman determined to resist the strictures her guardian Dr. Bartolo (Doug MacNaughton) placed on her. Besides singing the role with obvious enthusiasm, she created a full-bodied woman who would get what she wanted.

Her love interest, Count Almaviva, must dance through hoops to evade Bartolo’s detection. Tessier knows this role well. He played it most recently in Calgary Opera’s production in April. (Tessier is way beyond winning emerging artist prizes. He’s made an international career from his base in Edmonton. He received a Ruby Award from Opera Canada a few weeks ago, sometimes seen as a lifetime achievement honour). Tessier has a fine, enduring tenor instrument. He’s an excellent singing actor, and when he needs to produce a dazzling operatic moment, as he did with his long high C in the treacherously difficult “Ecco, ridente in cielo,” he delivers. And he was rewarded with a generous ovation for his courage.

Thomas-Smith, winner of the 2025 Rumbold Prize, had all the swagger and effervescent vocal power one expects from the factotum Figaro. His opening appearance in his flashy suit excited the audience completely. Thomas-Smith, like Fackelmann, has more than a good voice, and he grabbed the opportunity to demonstrate his whole range to deliver his Figaro with convincing flair.

MacNaughton’s doddering Doctor Bartolo played his part as the obstructing force determined to thwart Rosina’s romantic ambition and have her for himself. Giving him a cane to emphasize his several deficiencies was a nice touch, and in the scenes when he literally chased his rival about the stage, MacNaughton conveyed his ineffectuality with aplomb. Baritone Vartan Gabrielian’s Don Basilio was solidly sung. Gabrielian has a powerful instrument, and when he had the spotlight, he commanded the proceedings and triggered some farcical stage business. Keely McPeek, also an up-and-comer, sang her self-pitying lamentation “Il vecchiotto cerca moglie” with a certain shrillness, appropriate, I suppose, for an aria full of miserable soprano complaining.

Emerging artist Layne Spencer sang only a few lines, but he struck me as deserving some larger opportunities. Ordinarily, he is part of the company’s chorus, and kudos to Edmonton Opera for giving him a bit of main stage attention.

For the first time in a while, the whole Edmonton Symphony, conducted by Gordon Gerrard, recently appointed artist director of Manitoba Opera, accompanied the singers, and Gerrard led the orchestra with a light touch, giving all the singers ample support. So appreciative was the opening night audience that even the chorus received an ovation comparable to what the principals received. Two sold-out performances were given of the opera.

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