The photograph shows not a rehearsal for Figaro but a scene from our 2005 production of The Barber of Seville by Paisiello. This 1782 opera was the first to set one of the controversial Figaro plays by Beaumarchais and it proved to be one of the most successful operas of the late eighteenth century, holding its own well into the next century when, of course, it was eclipsed by Rossini’s version. Our production, which was also seen at the Buxton Festival, was set in a holiday camp “of timeless ghastliness” (as one reviewer put it), and featured Nicholas Merryweather as Figaro, seen here with Adrian Dwyer and Rebecca Bottone. Marcos Portugal’s 1799 Marriage of Figaro was almost certainly written as a sequel to the Paisiello, rather than in rivalry with Mozart’s version which was little known in Italy (where Portugal was working). We’re delighted to have Nicholas back with us again in the role of Figaro: he’s a magnificent singer with a breathtaking sense of timing and dramatic colour. It would be fun to mount both the Paisiello and the Portugal as a pair of productions sometime – but alas our caravan has long been consigned to the bonfire.