Opera review: Scottish Opera: The Barber of Seville, Glasgow Theatre Royal

Speaking as someone who missed out the first time round, I can only comment that the production is a pleasure which deserves to be repeated.

Frivolous and frothy it certainly is, and who would wish it any other way?

Ville Rusanen is a strutting, swaggering Figaro; dressed head-to-toe in black, he delivers each phrase with cocky confidence (though his motoring energy almost got away from him in his opening Largo al factotum della città).

Against Thomas Walker’s steady Count Almaviva – all in white and (sartorially and vocally) buttoned-up – his Figaro ducks and dives through the music with knowing ease.

Claire Booth is equally as successful as the lovely Rosina, revealing the character’s cunning right from the off in her coquettish Una voce poco fa.

Her charming, purposeful Rosina, when in trio with Figaro and Count Almaviva (in the unforgettable guise of the goat-voiced, buck-toothed Don Alonso), makes for a tremendous second act.

Aside from the musical and dramatic achievements, this production is equally as likely to be remembered for its design. The stage is a surrealist litter of aristocratic jetsam and jumbled perspective, complemented by the appearance of policemen on stilts, bicycling nuns and moustaches on sticks.

The cumulative effect is not only beautiful to behold, it also presents a fitting aesthetic home for opera buffa in the 21st-century.

Rating: ****