When the curtain rose on Jonathan Miller's Barber at the Coliseum this week, the lantern-lit streets of old Seville and the troupe of Commedia del'Arte musicians looked rather familiar. That is, of course, no surprise because this is a grand-daddy of ENO productions and has been around for, literally, decades and, if not quite looking as fresh as a daisy, it is looking decidedly good for its age. This is partly due to the excellent sets and costumes (by Tanya McCallin) which place it firmly in period and the supremely witty translation by Amanda and Anthony Holden but, then again, mostly because Rossini wrote a gem of a comic opera. Based on the first of Beaumarchais' trilogy of plays (Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro follows it chronologically), it is a tale full of wily characters, all prepared to stop at nothing to fulfil their aims. There's old Doctor Bartolo, a guardian who imprisons his ward, Rosina, and attempts to marry her. Meanwhile, Rosina herself has
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