Christof Loy frees zarzuela from folkloric clichés, presenting it as passionate musical theatre of depth and radiant musicality. After discovering the genre’s richness at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela, he launched new productions in Basel, Vienna, and Madrid for the 2025/26 season and founded the ensemble Los Paladines with young Spanish singer-actors. With Il Barberillo de Lavapiés, Loy achieves a triumph at Theater Basel. His precise, lively staging paints a vibrant portrait of Madrid’s Lavapiés district, full of rhythm, romance, and sharp humor. Beloved in Spain much like Die Fledermaus in German-speaking countries, the work appears both familiar and fresh here—sparkling with ensemble energy, elegance, and cinematic pacing. The result is a festive, deeply human evening and a clear audience success.