Il barbiere di Siviglia: a rather polite but rewardingly stylish Barber

• In his previous life, as principal oboist of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Garsington Opera’s music director Douglas Boyd played plenty of Rossini under the late, great Claudio Abbado. He even participated in Abbado’s recording of Il barbiere di Siviglia, so this most famous title is a fitting choice for Boyd’s first Rossini opera as a conductor. His work together with the alert period instrumentalists of the English Concert is the highlight of Garsington’s season-opening production.