In review: from around the world: San Francisco.(North America ... Il Barbiere di Siviglia)

In the past, San Francisco Opera patrons could count on hearing bel canto opera in conservative productions, with big stars who paid great attention to vocal precision and beauty. The new Il Barbiere di Siviglia, commissioned by general director Pamela Rosenberg, offered none of those features--nevertheless it proved one of the liveliest pieces the War Memorial Opera House has seen in recent years (seen Nov. 23). Director Johannes Schaaf's work frequently has been on display in San Francisco since Rosenberg's arrival in 2001. His recent Kata Kabanova and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk were both distinguished (and a bit bizarre), but neither gave any indication of the insight and warmth shown in this fresh, delightful staging of Rossini's comic masterpiece.

Schaaf updated the work to modern times and moved the action from Seville to a Barcelona beach-house. The revolving set was a triumph of stage design (by Hans Dieter Schaal, acclaimed for last season's production of Messiaen's Saint Francois d'Assise), but during the early stages of the show, the distinct odor of Eurotrash Regietheater was in the air: Fiorello made an entrance from a manhole (complete with a sewer rat on his shoulder), and Count Almaviva's band exacted its fee by tarring his clothes, stripping him down to ...