Not everyone will approve, but there are ways in which this super-budget set of Il barbiere diSiviglia puts to shame just about every other version of the opera there has been. Those it may not please are specialist vocal collectors for whom Il barbiere is primarily a repository of vocal test pieces. If, however, you regard Il barbiere (Rossini, ex-Beaumarchais) as a gloriously subversive music drama – vibrant, scurrilous, vital – then this recording is guaranteed to give a great deal of pleasure.
'Performance' is the key word here. Humburg is described in the Naxos booklet as 'Conductor and Recitative Director', and for once the recitatives really are part of the larger drama. The result is a meticulously produced, often very funny, brilliantly integrated performance that you'll almost certainly find yourself listening to as a stage play. With a virtually all-Italian cast, the results are a revelation. The erotic allure of the duet 'Dunque io son' is striking. Similarly, Don Basilio's Calumny aria, superbly sung by Franco de Grandis, a black-browed bass from Turin who was singing for Karajan, Muti and Abbado while still in his twenties. This takes on added character and colour from the massive sense of panic created by de Grandis and the admirable Dr Bartolo of Angelo Romero when Basilio comes in with news of Almaviva's arrival in town.
The Overture is done with evident relish, the playing of the Failoni Chamber Orchestra is nothing if not articulate. Aided by a clear, forward recording, a sine qua non with musical comedy, the cast communicates the Rossini/ Sterbini text with tremendous relish. They're never hustled by Humburg, nor are they spared: the stretta of the Act 1 finale is a model of hypertension and clarity. This Il barbiere jumps to the top of the pile.