Gioachino Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” is over 200 years old, but according to François López-Ferrer, who’s conducting this week’s production for Opera San Antonio, it has hardly aged thanks to its comedic take on authority, and social mobility.
“Because it's such a human subject, and how fast paced the comedy is, it's as relevant today as it was back then,” López-Ferrer said.
López-Ferrer was joined in our studio by Lunga Hallam, who plays Count Almaviva, and Luke Sutliff, who sang the classic tune “Largo al factotum,” which most know simply as “Figaro.” We were amazed at his high G note at the end of the aria!
“For a conductor, it's always a tricky thing,” López-Ferrer explained, “because you have to wait until they come out of [the note]. They have to come out at the right time. You know, you don't want to come out too early. So that's, that's the job of the conductor, to follow the singers.”
With a grin, López-Ferrer added, “I feel like Luke is kind of looking at me with his cheeky little look in his eyes to show me ‘Look how long I'm going to stay on this note!’”
Hear samples from the opera recorded in our studio using the audio player at the top of this page. Opera San Antonio presents “The Barber of Seville” this Thursday and Saturday night at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, at 7:30 p.m. each night. Details and tickets at: https://www.operasa.org/the-barber-of-seville-1
