"Figaro sung by Richard Ollarsaba performed with a rich controlled voice, his every gesture finely tuned. . .Galvanizing the whole performance was the glorious music which was delivered by the Auckland Philharmonia under the baton of the enthusiastic Zoe Zeniodi."
"It is a production well worth waiting for, as the refreshing direction and production and wonderful ensemble cast and a production that brought the masterpiece to life to a rare extent. . . Susanna (Joanna Foote) and Figaro (Richard Ollarsaba) were most charming as the central pair. . . Ollarsaba similarly played superbly off the other characters and sang with healthy resonance and smooth tone throughout, changing noticeably from jovial (if sometimes clueless) trickster to a deeper, sympathetic character in his angry scene in Act 4. . . Zoe Zeniodi led a largely speedy account of the score which matched the energy and verve of the cast. . . The musical highlights were the long finales of the second and fourth acts; Zeniodi tied together all of the musical threads easily, highlighting key individual vocal and instrumental details and bringing each of these to an exciting conclusion. Despite the rather dead acoustics of the Kiri te Kanawa Theatre, Mozart’s ravishing woodwind details were particularly brought to the fore."
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