Conductor...............Maurizio Benini
Production..............Bartlett Sher
Figaro..................Peter Mattei
Rosina..................Joyce DiDonato
Count Almaviva....Juan Diego Flórez
Dr. Bartolo.............John Del Carlo
Don Basilio.............John Relyea
The Met is streaming Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia that originally played in 2007 while I was driving across the country. I don't seem to have had much enthusiasm for it, but seeing it now I like it a lot. This is such a marvelous cast. Every one is among the best in their class. At this point in my life Mattei may be my favorite Figaro. He plays the role with great vigor. There is a strange, ghost-like man who wanders the stage. The main trio are young and lively, great singers, actors, musicians.
This opera was originally called Almaviva and ended with the big aria usually heard as the finale to La Cenerantola, here sung by the tenor. Later Rossini removed it from this opera and assigned it to Angiolina, a coloratura mezzo. In modern times it is only rarely heard in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and only when a company wishes to particularly honor a tenor. Juan Diego's performance is excellent.
I find this is highly recommended.
2 comments:
Very nice review, and I asked about Count Almaviva's aria in the Met Oper Live in HD fans Facebook group, and heard just the same answer. Rossini was heaviily into recycling long before it was necessary for the survival of the planet!
Of course, Rossini wasn't the only one to recycle. With Donizetti, the opening chorus in "Lucrezia Borgia" is the exact same tune as the overture in "Francesca de Foix." And Meyerbeer took the main theme from his clarinet quintet and recast it as the primary soprano aria in "Margarita d'Anjou."
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