Il barbiere di Siviglia at Glyndebourne Festival 2025

Organising trips to Glyndebourne with different groups of friends takes some doing and then the food, drink and equipment for each trip has to be planned so it was good that on our first trip to Festival 2025 our guests offered to do all the food leaving us just to find a couple of bottles. They also offered to drive us there so that was sorted to. An easy start to the season.

I always have a sense of anticipation on the first visit of the year as there is always something that has changed. This year the main change was the enlarged and improved Veg Patch Stretch Tent which already was our first choice picnic area.

There were also some minor changes in the garden, including a work of art in the sunken garden where, years ago, the Henry Moore lay.

The big sculptures in the garden were there from the year before which was fine because I love them.

There had been some changes to how the seats were classified in the booking process but we were in our usual area where seat Blue Upper Circle B5 was a modest £110 (I am paying more to see Neil Young play in a field).

I seen the opera twice before, in 2016 and 2019, but had few memories of it and was ready to appreciate it afresh. The plot was simple and quickly understood, Dr Bartolo want to marry Rosina but she wants to marry Count Almaviva and is helped by Figaro (the titular barber). Their plans are playful and the story gentle fun.

The opera may be named after Figaro, and he takes the final curtain call, but it is the heroine Rosina, played by Cecilia Molinari, who carries the day with delightful singing and impish acting. She was a joy to watch and hear.