TRAILER | EL BARBERILLO DE LAVAPIÉS Barbieri – Theater Basel

Madrid in turmoil. In the lively working-class neighborhood of Lavapiés during the 18th century reign of Charles III, meet Lamparilla, a quick-witted barber, factotum, dentist and street singer. Lamparilla has no interest in politics but he is in love and becomes embroiled in an intrigue that reaches all the way to the Spanish royal family. Will his charm, network and cunning disguises help him outsmart the scheming aristocrats and political conspirators?

El barberillo de Lavapiés from 1874 is a zarzuela masterpiece by Francisco Barbieri. This cheerful game of cat and mouse with the authorities is fueled by irresistible Spanish dance rhythms and music reminiscent of Rossini and Verdi. In this classic 19th-century zarzuela, still relatively unknown outside Spain, social and political tensions are vented through folklore and humour. For his acclaimed new production for Theater Basel, Christof Loy devotes himself to the best-known work of this genre and brings it to the stage with a Spanish cast and in the original language. The zarzuela celebrates the cleverness of common people who triumph over powerful elites through wit rather than force, with lashings of charm, irresistible dance numbers and gentle social commentary.

Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 16 January 2026 at 19:00 CET to 16 July 2026 at 12:00 CET: https://operavision.eu/performance/el...

CAST

Lamparilla
David Oller

Paloma
Carmen Artaza

Estrella
Cristina Toledo

Don Luis de Haro
Santiago Sánchez

Don Juan de Peralta
Alejandro Baliñas Vieites

Don Pedro de Monforte
Joselu López

Lope / Guitarist
Marcelino Echeverría

Vendedora
Marta Bauza

Two students
Gabriel Courvoisier
Teddy Métriau

Dancers
Iván Amaya
Giuseppe Bencivenga
Laura Garcìa Aguilera
Pascu Ortí
Davide Pillera
Giulia Tornarolli
Amparo Uhlmann
Chiara Viscido

Orchestra
Basel Symphony Orchestra

Chorus
Theater Basel Chorus

Extras
Theater Basel Extras

Music
Francisco Asenjo Barbieri

Text
Luis Mariano de Larra

Director
Christof Loy

Conductor
José Miguel Pérez-Sierra

Sets
Manuel La Casta

Costumes
Robby Duiveman

Choreography
Javier Pérez

Lights
Valerio Tiberi

Chorus master
Michael Clark

Dramaturgy
Elise Boch

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Managed by Opera Europa, OperaVision is a freeview streaming platform supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe funding programme. Between 2025 and 2028, Creative Europe’s support will help Opera Europa to promote and train emerging artists working in opera and dance. Known as Opera Europa Next Generation, this initiative will give visibility and development opportunities to over 560 emerging artists – in person and online, including via OperaVision – and all thanks to the efforts of a consortium of 44 opera houses and talent development organisations from 17 European countries.

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