FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CARDIFF.(Welsh National Opera, Cardiff, Wales)(Review)

Welsh National Opera's new Le Nozze di Figaro was sung in Italian (Feb. 10), offering the agreeable possibility of engaging Italian singers in major roles. Outstanding among these was the Susanna of Nuccia Focile, an assumption memorable for well-rounded tone and shapely phrasing. Her "Deh vieni, non tardar" was the vocal highlight of the evening.

Elsewhere she moved with effortless skill around the busy intricacies of Neil Armfield's detailed production -- this was a Figaro in which the audience could engage with the reverses and counter-reverses of the plot with constant interest. Design-wise it was a curious evening. Traditional eighteenth-century sets, costumes and wigs were momentarily upstaged by contemporary gadgetry making cameo appearances: an electric iron for Susanna in Act I, a hairdryer for the Countess in Act II, a camera with flash for the wedding scene in Act III. It was anyone's guess quite what designer Dale Ferguson intended by this. Still, in terms of attention to the plot and developed characterizations, this version of Mozart and Da Ponte was more rational and enlightened than most.

Nicola Ulivieri sang the title role; his top register lacked strength, but otherwise his vigorous attack and solid stage manner were impressive. The third Italian import was the Dr. Bartolo of Donato di Stefano, who offered an emphatically delivered, traditional ...