The fast-talking barber is back. Houston Grand Opera’s latest production of The Barber of Seville opens this Friday and brings with it Rossini’s famous music and three HGO debuts.
Grammy Award-winning baritone Will Liverman takes on the role of the title character who helps Count Almaviva who has set his sights on the young Rosina. In his way, however, is her guardian, the aging Dr. Bartolo who wants Rosina for himself.
Employing his extensive bag of tricks, Figaro works his magic and guides Almaviva and Rosina to a happy ending.
For Liverman, the chance to sing the Figaro role is a return to his own earlier days. “This role was one of my calling cards when I started my career,” he says. “I haven’t done it in probably eight years. “
He says he has wanted to make his debut in Houston and thought to revisit such an iconic role would give him the chance to discover new things about the role.
“I think there’s probably in addition to Figaro just being this fun loving guy, there’s kind of digging deeper into larger story role by [Pierre]Beaumarchais . He represents intelligence over status and wit over wealth. A middle class outsmarting the elite which is why I think the audiences love him so much. He’s charismatic, relatable, a little rebellious. “
And then there’s the music, particularly for its famous overture and Figaro’s rapid-fire “Largo al factotum.”
“The music is basically the personality, the character is written all over the score,” Liverman says. “The escalating sort of madness and the famous Rossini crescendo and the ensemble members which is just so masterfully written. The rapid-fire patter. It really makes it timeless. The music is so athletic so Olympian, these Rossini roles. You couple that with the story telling and the comedy in it, it’s just something that audiences love. It’s something I love sitting in rehearsal just listening to my colleagues perform.”
Those colleagues include Houston-raised, internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack – who was born in Buenos Aires but raised in Houston and is making her company debut– as Rosina, tenor Jack Swanson, who received his master’s degree from the Shepherd School at Rice University, as Almaviva; and baritone Alessandro Corbelli, a Rossini specialist, as Dr. Bartolo. Bass-baritones Ryan Speedo Green and Cory McGee share the Don Basilio role. Joan Font directs, with Gemma New, principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, making her company debut at the podium.
Liverman grew up singing in church and playing piano. He attended an arts high school. While there, Liverman went on a class trip to the Metropolitan Opera. “We were sitting up in the nosebleeds and I was just astounded by the sheer power and volume of the human voice. I thought the whole time they were miked but they weren’t. It’s an unusual thing the operatic voice because we spend all this time singing unamplified and it is kind of an otherworldly type of art form. It’s larger than life. It’s unlike any other art form. “
He attended Wheaton College for his undergrad and Julliard for his master’s in vocal performance. He is also a composer. He says his writing took off during the pandemic and the opera The Factotum, a new work inspired by The Barber of Seville and set in a Black barbershop, was a product of that. It’s described as a soul opera with elements of gospel, run, rap, hip-hop, classic barbershop quartet music and R&B. He has also been busy writing art songs.
When the Met opened their season after a two-year pandemic-inspired hiatus, they premiered Terence Blanchard’s work Fire Shut Up in My Bones. That opera won Best Opera Recording and Liverman received a Grammy for that.
Asked why he thinks Barber continues to be so popular, Liverman responds:
“The core story of it is universal. I might be the lead but at the heart of it you have two people, the Count Almaviva and Rosina that just want to be together. Someone in power gets in their way. I help them overcome that.
“I also think comedy that is constructed on human behavior never gets old. When you think about ego and the miscommunication, deception, jealousy. Outsmarting people in power never gets old. Figaro represents the everyday person beating the system and that kind of tension is timeless.”
Performances are scheduled for April 24 through May 10 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday Friday, Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sundays. Special Noche de Opera 7:30 p.m. Friday May 8. At Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For more information, call 713-228-6737 or visit houstongrandopera.org. $25-$210.
