5/5 Just Great!
  by J. Parker (Ocean Shores, WA USA)
The singers in this production are not only wonderful but they are miracle-workers as well, with all the perpetual "Comedia del Arte" action going on as they overcome the frenzy and deliver top-notch performances in spite of it. The constant manipulation of drapery in every scene was a bit distracting, but the singing and acting were so good that I still thoroughly enjoyed the opera. The orchestra is great, too, and the filming is excellent. Buy this DVD. It's worth the price.

1/5 Hack work
  by Richard R. Reynolds (Storrs, CT United States)
This production very disappointing -- vastly inferior to to the Nucci-Battle-Dara performance!
Bring in a "famous director" and you ruin the work.

4/5 Marvelously Sung - a Little Busy: A lot of fun!
  by G P Padillo (Portland, ME United States)
While Dario Fo has gone overboard - populating every square inch of the set with extras and stage business - this remains, overall, a "fun" Barbiere.

Richard Croft should win an award for execution of all his stage pranks and physical demands while having to sing Almaviva's difficult music. "All'idea di quel metall" is one of the most eye-popping messes I've seen a tenor have to go through; racing up and down a flight of steps that is being wheeled around the stage in constant motion as houses appear and disappear around him, it really is a bit much. Croft never misses a beat and looks to enjoy the athletic aspects of the role Fo has laid out for him. This Almaviva is a perfect blend of arrogant machismo, comic timing, physical agility - like Errol Flynn with high notes.

Beautiful Jennifer Larmore is not given particularly exciting costuming here, but she too exercises all of the business Fo foists on her as well. Una voce poca fa is thrilling singing but the sideshow with her ladies in waiting is a bit much.

I wanted to like David Malis more as Figaro: a terrific actor, lithe and willing to risk life and limb, but the voice isn't quite right for Figaro: his coloratura work is all delivered in an aspirated manner, most noticeable in the Rosina/Figaro "Dunque il son" where Larmore's ability to sing it smoothly makes his aspirated runs sound choppy and out of tune.

After repeated viewings I've found fewer problems with this production and the Act I finale is absolutely mind boggling - impossible to top and produces a riotous ovation from the audience who have all been lathered up into a frenzy. Great fun!!!


3/5 Bad VHS Sound Quality Ruins an Excellent Production
  by J. Birchell (Anchorage, AK, US)
The visually stunning and aurally magnificent production of this classic opera is impeded horrendously by the sound quality on this video, due, I suppose, to poor microphone placement and bad editing. Footsteps (and especially leaps or backflips or other acrobatics) on stage become massive, booming cannon blasts that jar the music. The orchestra often drowns out the singers, especially during the second act. I would recommend purchasing this production if you can find a good price, and especially if you have a predilection for good stage direction and excellent singing.

5/5 Excellent performance and production
  by G. Smith (Colorado USA)
This is the fifth opera I've seen on DVD, all of which I rented. This one, however, is the first to so enthrall me that I immediately purchased a copy of my own. I, like other reviewers, found the simple set but constant activity exciting, greatly entertaining, and a wonderful addition to the opera itself. The Barber of Seville is a comic opera, and Dario Fo emphasizes this with action, costumes, and even subtle slapstick. I agree it's not a traditional opera production, but the magnificent performaces by all make it wonderfully entertaining and worth seeing many times.