Exactly what Rossini had in mind?

Pimlico Opera is best known for taking opera into prisons, but its production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville is a low-budget, high-energy show for the road.

It is staged by Ptolemy Christie, member of the family behind Glyndebourne, who has to get by with rather fewer resources than Glyndebourne offers.

That poses problems, not all of which are solved, although the set (by George Souglides and Emma Ryott) makes a virtue out of economy.

The orchestra, too, may be skeletal, but it has a pleasingly rustic chamber quality, despite the drafted-in, over-amplified electric keyboards.

Christie sets the action at a moment that wanders between the 1950s and the 1970s, which may offer no particular benefit, but does little harm.

What is more damaging is that Christie treats The Barber as if it is a Brian Rix farce, with much standing on the furniture, so it is often hard to escape the feeling of being shouted at.

Yet the young, multi-national cast makes sure that David Parry's witty translation hits home. James McOran-Campbell's Figaro is a larger-than-life fixer, while Serena Kay plays Rosina as both minx and coquette: exactly what Rossini had in mind.

Info: 01962 868600

Barber of Seville/Pimlico Opera
Lilian Bayliss Theatre, EC1