Soloists shine in slick and effective Marriage of Figaro

Two and a half hours of fastflowing farce accompanied by some of the greatest operatic music ever written. That succinctly sums up Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, opera buffa at its very best.

However, you would need further expansion to describe English Touring Opera’s current production which opened this year’s Perth Festival of the Arts in the Concert Hall on Thursday night.

It was slick, simply but effectively staged and provided an excellent line-up of soloists.

Take Rachel Redmond’s Susanna, for example. She sailed through a relatively demanding role with polished ease and beautiful delivery, interpreting the part, I thought, to perfection.

Similarly was Katherine Aitken’s Cherubino.

She was the archetypal cheeky chappy, playing the part on the right side of over-the-top with a voice that matched Ms Redmond’s in terms of clarity and delivery.

Ross Ramgobin’s relaxed, almost laid-back Figaro was another hit, and if the duo of Redmond and Aitken need a third to make a trio of female excellence it was in the form of Nadine Benjamin (Countess), whose aria at the start of act two was one of the opera’s many highlights.

As for Dawid Kimberg’s Almaviva, he grew into the part as the performance progressed, and more than matched the main protagonists in this marvellous romp.

Musically, the performance was as tight as tympani throughout, with ensemble singing, duet, trio and recitative delivered to perfection.