Lehmann Makes North Carolina Opera Debut in a "Brilliant Showcase...of Musicality"

Maestro Lehmann’s choices of tempi were quicker than one normally hears in performances of Barber. These choices, first and foremost, set the mood for the opera. In the overture we heard the frenetics that were to come. He eschewed some of the Romantic conventions of wildly fluctuating tempi (especially during “Dunque io son” between Rosina and Figaro), drawn out cadenzas, or some of the flashier interpolations of high notes in the arias (although, Berta did get to show off a bit). The result was generally quite clean… well paced, exciting, and really served to drive the action. North Carolina Opera’s production was a brilliant showcase of stunning vocal talent, theatrical innovation, and musicality. – Triangle Sings