Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Sir Andrew Davis, the evening’s conductor as well as Lyric’s esteemed music director, set a romantic mood in the opera’s overture. All of Rossini’s short, snappy phrases and mercurial mood shifts were there, clearly articulated by the attentive orchestra. But Lyric’s lush, sweet violins lingered in the overture’s longer melodic phrases, and the atmosphere overall was more dreamy than fizzy."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...The Broadway style production, with sun-drenched Moorish colors and roving set pieces on wheels, was originally created by Rob Ashford for the Lyric in 2014. Now it has been revived anew by Tara Faircloth. Her brilliant cast, a motley crew of comedians in all sizes, was gleefully game to explore the long and short of it."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Lyric’s newest production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is simply delightful and a must-see! Any criticisms are too minor to bother mentioning. So go, see it twice, see it a third or fourth time and bring a friend. I can’t recommend this show strongly enough."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The audience laughed nonstop for an hour in the second half of The Barber of Seville, as ninety minutes of meticulous set-up broke into madcap comedy. That’s what happens in any successful production of the 1816 masterpiece by Gioachino Rossini, and the season premiere at the Lyric Opera was no exception. A remount directed by Tara Faircloth of the Rob Ashford production that played here five years, ago, Barber has lost none of its vitality, and is an ideal display of the physical comedy and vocal talents of its cast. It’s a rare work that can transcend centuries and cultures to remain genuinely funny, and under Sir Andrew Davis’s comfortable conducting, is a delight to the ear, as well."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...This "Barber of Seville would be a fine introduction to anyone with a musical ear who still is leery of opera going. The English titles projected above the stage are a godsend to non-Italian spectators, which is nearly all of us. And even when the projection screen is blank viewers should have no problem following the emotions of the characters through their expressive singing and body language. The last part of the first act runs a little long for its minuscule amount of plot and Count Almaviva's declarations of love for Rosina get a little repetitive through the production, but Brownlee is worth hearing every time he opens his mouth, so that isn't much of a criticism. Overall, the Lyric has come up with another winner in a string of handsomely mounted and gloriously sung operas."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...If the cast and production are what make this an outstanding evening of opera, the fact that all of it is being done around such a downright hummable score is what makes this the ideal introduction to the art form for first timers. There is a reason why so many portions of the score have become ubiquitous in film and television and the effect of sitting through the opera for the first time or the first time in awhile is a bit akin to listening to the White Album in its entirety and at every other tune grinning and going "Oh yeah, that's from this too.""
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Even if you are not an opera aficionado, you are likely to experience a wave of recognition when the orchestra plays the opening overture. It contains one of the most familiar themes in opera music and has been used in numerous soundtracks for movies, TV shows, commercials, and the odd Bugs Bunny cartoon."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Presented as a Rob Ashford production with a revival under the direction of Tara Faircloth, the scenes move from one delightful, chuckle moment to the next beginning with when Figaro has trouble getting rid of musicians asked to help Count Almaviva serenade the beautiful Rosina to when Almaviva and Rosina try to touch fingers in the balcony scene."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...An ideal match for first-time opera- goers and opera diehards alike, Lyric’s current production of The Barber of Seville should make it to everyone’s autumn entertainment short list."
City Pleasures - Highly Recommended
"...There are plenty of reasons why his Barber still holds its acclaim two centuries later and they were on full display Saturday night. Some might say it’s because Rossini’s signature opera is everything you would expect an opera not to be. Funny, accessible and warm. But there’s one attribute people usually don’t bother to include. Thanks to Cesare Sterbini, the librettist who wrote the opera’s text, The Barber of Seville happens to be delightfully clever and filled with strong personalities who know what they want and have the tenacity and imagination to get it. If all the of characters in Rossini’s 38 operas are this finely drawn, it’s no wonder he’s such a darling of the genre."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Director Rob Ashford’s production, as revived by Tara Faircloth, provides the perfect complement to the festivities. Figaro bounces, Rosina slithers, and Almaviva slinks as if there was no fourth wall between the audience and the players. If they had joined us in the lobby at intermission, no one would have been surprised. Designer Scott Pask’s grand, malleable set is one of the delightful characters in the piece. Catherine Zuber’s costumes add to the fun. Although this production has been at Lyric before, it has so much to commend. This is such a different and specific cast that seeing and hearing it is a must."
