OPERA TALK: BARBER OF SEVILLE AKA IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA BY GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
A quirky and famous barber helps his former boss, Count Almaviva capture Rosina’s heart through funny schemes. Tanisha will explore how Rossini was the master of comedy through his ingenious music making.
1. Talk only with audio-visual presentation
2. Talk with 1 aria performed by the speaker
3. Virtual Talk
SUMMARY SETTING TANISHA’S PICKS LEGENDARY CAST OPERA-ALIKES
SUMMARY
The Barber of Seville, Italian Il barbiere di Siviglia, comic opera in two acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (libretto in Italian by Cesare Sterbini) that was first performed under the title Almaviva o sia l’inutile precauzione (Almaviva; or, The Useless Precaution) at the Teatro Argentina in Rome on February 20, 1816. With a plot based on Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’s 1775 play Le Barbier de Séville, Rossini’s opera remains one of the most frequently performed comic operas in the repertoire. READ MORE ON BRITTANICA
SETTING
As Sophia from the Golden Girls says “picture it” Barber of Seville is set in and around Sevilla, Spain, around the 17th Century
ACT 1: A square in Sevilla, outside a cigarette factory.
Scene 1. Dawn, outside Dr. Bartolo’s house near Sevilla.
Scene 2. Later the same morning, in the music room of Bartolo’s house.
ACT 2: Lillas Pastia’s tavern on the outskirts of Sevilla.
Scene 1. Bartolo’s music room, later the same day.
Scene 2. Dr. Bartolo’s house, later the same evening.
LEGENDARY CAST- WHO YOU WILL HEAR
Due to time constraint, this opera talk features a partial cast. If you loved the program, purchase from our affiliates or borrow the above DVD’s from your local library to see the full cast.
Rosina
CECILIA BARTOLI
JOYCE DIDONATO
MARIA EWING
TERESA BERGANZA
Count Almaviva
JUAN DIEGO FLOREZ
MAX RENÉ
COSOTTI
LUIGI ALVA
Figaro
ROBERT MERRILL
JOHN RAWNSLEY
Rosina
CECILIA BARTOLI
JOYCE DIDONATO
MARIA EWING
TERESA BERGANZA
Count Almaviva
JUAN DIEGO FLOREZ
MAX RENÉ COSOTTI
LUIGI ALVA
Figaro
ROBERT MERRILL
JOHN RAWNSLEY
TANISHA’S PICKS
This opera talk features Tanisha’s favorite casts from these recordings. Click the link to purchase them for your own collection.
Il barbiere di Siviglia [video recording (DVD)] / by Rossini
Recorded at London, Watford, Town Hall, 9/1971, DVD filmed at Salzburg, Atelier Durer, 7 & 8/1972..
Luigi Alva ; Enzo Dara ; Teresa Berganza ; Hermann Prey ; Paolo Montarsolo ; Renato Cesari ; Stefania Malagu ; The Ambrosian Opera Chorus ; London Symphony Orchestra ; Claudio Abbado, conductor.
The barber of Seville [videorecording (DVD)] by Rossini
Recorded live in 2009, Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Joyce DiDonato (Rosina) ; Juan Diego Florez (Count Almaviva) ; Pietro Spagnoli (Figaro) ; Alessandro Corbelli (Doctor Bartolo) ; Ferruccio Furlanetto (Don Basilio) ; Covent Garden Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra ; Antonio Pappano, conductor.
Il barbiere di Siviglia
[videorecording DVD]
Recorded live, 1988; Schwetzinger Festspiele.
Cecilia Bartoli (Rosina) ; David Kuebler (Count Almaviva) ; Gino Quilico (Figaro) ; Carlos Feller (Bartolo) ; Robert Lloyd (Basilio) ; Klaus Bruch (Fiorillo) ; Edith Kertesz-Gabry (Berta) ; Paul Kappeler (Ambrogio) ; Radiio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart ; conductor, Gabriele Ferro ; Choir of Cologne City Opera.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini [videorecording (DVD)]
Recorded March, 2007: Glyndebourne Festival Max-René Cosotti (Count Almaviva) ; Maria Ewing (Rosina) ; Claudio Desderi (Bartolo) ; John Rawnsley (Figaro) ; Ferruccio Furlanetto (Basilio) ; supporting soloists ; Glyndebourne Chorus ; London Philharmonic Orchestra ; Sylvain Cambreling, conductor.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini [videorecording (DVD)]
Recorded March, 2007: Metropolitan Opera Cast: Peter Mattei as Figaro, Juan Diego Florez as Count Almaviva, Joyce Didonato as Rosina, Maurizio Benini, conductor
Bell Telephone Hour: Great Stars of Opera [videorecording (DVD)]
Various soloists ; Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra & Chorus ; Donald Voorhees, conductor. A collection of performances by the most celebrated opera stars of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
OPERA-ALIKES
If you liked this opera talk, you may like these other opera programs that Tanisha presents..
