The Barber of Seville, Royal Opera House review ★★★★★

One of the thrills of living in London is spotting the international superstars of the future on their way up. Five years ago, tucked away at Wilton’s Music Hall, in a small-scale production by the rising artists of the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker scheme, the 21-year-old Russian-born Aigul Akhmetshina made audiences sit up with her portrayal of Carmen.

‘Catch her while you can: she is going places fast,’ Culture Whisper advised then, and sure enough, she went on to sing Carmen at short notice at Covent Garden in Barrie Kosky’s massive production of Bizet’s opera, and has since sung that Spanish seductress and other roles in many of the world’s great opera houses.

Now she is back at the Royal Opera, her alma mater, starring in Rossini’s comedy The Barber of Seville, and the company’s life-long investment and belief in her has really paid off. Hers is a glorious voice wrapped in a compelling stage presence.

In this stylish and hilarious production by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, first seen in 2005, apart from performing the vocal athletics that the irrepressible Italian composer expects of his singers, she must dash and dart as nimbly as any dancer. She may be fired up by her chartreuse Dior dress and accessories in Schiaparelli pink (costumes by Agostino Cavalca). Who wouldn’t be? But could many of us carry off smashing a harpischord, felling a linen cupboard and kicking out a footlight both elegantly and alarmingly?

If you haven’t yet heard Akhmetshina – she has done other smaller roles at Covent Garden and at Glyndebourne – this is the moment. Her rich mezzo-soprano voice scales the heights and dives ravishingly into its depths while flashing dazzling colours. It is as rich, smooth and luxurious as a rare liqueur, rounding out with its five-year distillation since her Wilton’s debut.

In the Barber she sings Rosina, trapped ward of an elderly guardian, whose plans to marry her are thwarted by young Count Almaviva. At first he woos her in disguise, to check that she isn’t only interested in his money and status. Then he appears as a drunken solider, and finally reveals himself to be a noble catch.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is this energetic aristocrat, wrongfooting Fabio Capitanucci’s guardian Doctor Bartolo and his sidekick Basilio (Bryn Terfel letting his hair down), with the help of the barber of the title. ‘Barber’ is only part of the job description, because Figaro turns his hand to most things, but his swaggering entrance through the stalls, snipping at audience members’ hair as he goes, is done with great wit by Polish baritone Andrzej Filończyk. Here is another performance that combines marvellous singing with genuinely entertaining acting.

Another former Jette Parker artist, soprano Ailish Tynan gamely plays elderly housekeeper Berta.

This production is deliberately theatrical, withs its stage upon a stage, but it also throws itself whole-heartedly into Rossini’s unashamed silliness, often at the expense of the composer’s paymaster – music itself. The initial wooing scene requires a whole, fake, orchestra on stage, and a music lesson for Rosina, given by Almaviva disguised as a cleric, is cheerfully erotic.

With playschool spots and stripes on stage in Christian Fenouillat's jaunty design, and youthful Rafael Payare conducting the orchestra and the men of the Royal Opera chorus, this Barber is a triumph of the young generation over the oldies. On-stage and off, Akhmetshina proves that single-handed. The next Jette Parker artists have just been announced: keep and eye and ear out, and see if you can spot the next big thing.

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The Barber of Seville is sung in Italian, with English surtitles. Further performances are on 9, 13, 15, 22, 28 Feb and 6 March. It is screened live at cinemas across London on 15 Feb, with an Encore screening on 19 Feb: click here for details