Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia – Opera Tampa (2008) – Tampa News Journal

A keen knack for the comic aspects lifts production

TAMPA – It’s not often that you walk out of an opera talking about the great acting, but that was the case Friday after the opening of Opera Tampa’s staging of The Barber of Seville. Not that there was anything wrong with the singing – to act the Rossini score well you must also sing it well – but this cast of singing actors brings marvelous comic flair to a work that can be a terrible bore in the wrong hands. Kudos to director James Marvel and conductor Anton Coppola for whipping the cast into such entertaining shape in a short rehearsal period.

– Tampa News Journal