Review Quotations
Minnesota Opera’s ‘Barber of Seville’ proves humorous and a fun night at the opera. Gioachino Rossini’s comic opera was always rooted in the stock characters and silly scenarios of commedia, but Minnesota Opera’s new production really leans into the tradition. It’s unapologetically built for laughs, with any earnest romantic yearnings serving only as a palate cleanser before the next madcap twist or trick gone awry. And it’s a great deal of fun, the ideal antidote for anyone who imagines opera to be an elitist art form. That’s largely because director Chuck Hudson and conductor Christopher Franklin are so precisely simpatico on the tone they’re taking.
-Rob Hubbard, Minnesota Star Tribune
Minnesota Opera's remount of The Barber of Seville might just be the most fun a person can have at an opera without ingesting mind-altering substances…this Barber is a delirious joy, a burst of sumptuous music, gales of laughter, superb performances, and in plain English, a hoot… Hudson's stage direction is outstanding, conceiving all sorts of stage business that adds to the already high level of gaiety provided by the score and libretto, to ratchet the production's level of wit even higher… [The] three hours spent laughing, being uplifted by glorious music beautifully played and sung, and viewing the inventive elements of stage craft that go into a production such as this are hours very well spent, and that opportunities to do just that are all too rare. If you are an opera fan, in particular one with a taste for comic operas, this is one you dare not miss. If you are not so sure how you feel about opera, this might just be the one that will win you over.
-Arthur Dorman, Talkin'Broadway.com
The Barber of Seville is a Comedic Delight at the Minnesota Opera: As any actor with tell you comedy is hard, and they all pull of the comedic performances superbly…this production did surprise me [with] how funny, fresh, and modern it felt. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Stage Director Chuck Hudson was acknowledging the cultural impact of The Rabbit of Seville with a wink to the audience in a couple of places where the humor was delightfully cartoonish.
-Rob Dunkleberger, The Stages of Minnesota
I went to 'The Barber of Seville' last night and it was so fun. Chuck Hudson's use of physical comedy in his stage direction of Rossini's opera makes this particular show especially accessible for first-time opera attendees.
-Jennie Eukel, Squarespace Website
Barber is a warhorse, but director Chuck Hudson gives it a new patina. His emphasis on physical busyness, including an amazing amount of high-spirited acrobatics, is a model true to the extravagant nature of the piece that also enhances the characters…This is one of Minnesota Opera’s most successful productions of many seasons.
-William Randall Beard, Pioneer Press
Minnesota Opera's Barber of Seville Blends Tradition with Mime Legacy: Chuck Hudson, while deeply invested in the visual and physical comedy of the piece, places significant emphasis on allowing this magnificent orchestration to truly shine, recognizing that the music itself is a vital character in the narrative, propelling the action and underscoring the emotional shifts with its inherent wit and energy.
– UnivesityCube.net