Given that Pelly works with players of quality, while ensuring that the production’s every detail is of a piece with itself, it’s not surprising that this is a wonderfully well-acted Il barbiere…The final salute, however, must go to Jérémie Rhorer and the period instrumentalists of his Le Cercle de l’Harmonie…This, by any measure, is premier cru conducting… My, what skills are on display in every department of this astonishing production!

[Angelini] moves his voice around the notes with a high degree of accuracy. At the end of the opera he is allowed to deliver ‘Cessa di più resistere’, and does so extremely well...The period orchestra is technically impressive and admirable in its range of colour. Jérémie Rhorer is a spirited conductor, conveying the score’s sophistication in lithe, witty fashion.

Florian Sempey has a rumbustious baritone suited to Figaro, Peter Kálmán booms as Bartolo and Robert Gleadow is a detailed Basilio. Catherine Trottmann and Michele Angelini make an attractive and vivacious Rosina and Almaviva: her mezzo is rather anonymous and there is an air of effi ciency about her performance, while his tenor is fluent and he triumphs over every hurdle the role presents. Perhaps most interesting is Jérémie Rhorer’s conducting, using period instruments. The sound is leaner and sharper and has pace.