23-year-old Gioachino Rossini completed his masterpiece IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA incredibly quickly – legend has it in just 13 days – which Rossini attributed to ‘facility and lots of instinct’. The opera, characterized by youthful energy and bold wit, has all the ingredients for comic chaos: an imprisoned young woman, her lecherous guardian and a young noble suitor. Skilfully plotting behind the scenes is Figaro, an irrepressible and inventive character in whom many have seen a resemblance to the young Rossini himself. The score fizzes with musical brilliance, from Figaro’s famous entrance aria to the frenzy of the Act I finale. This recording sees Joyce DiDonato (Rosina) bring literal meaning to the old theatrical motto Break a leg! She did just that in an earlier show but was determined to finish her commitment and was re-staged into the production to allow for the additional challenges that come when a leading lady in a lively physical role must wheel around the other performers...

Johann Strauss, Jr., a would-be composer of waltzes in mid-19th Century Vienna, attempts to thwart h...

Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur was inspired by the real-life story of a celebrated actress at ...
An anthology of four abbreviated operas: "William Tell" by Rossini, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Moza...

Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic...

This Blu-ray is a splendid record of a creative production with terrific voices and direction, as go...

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Visually this is a gripping production which captures the drama of this opera perfectly. It's downri...

The production was the Vienna State Opera debut for the young Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan – the ...

Emmanuelle Haïm has established herself as one of the world’s leading performers, conductors and int...

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Fierrabras of 1823 is the last of Franz Schubert’s stage works. Rarely performed to this day, this h...

Originally commissioned to celebrate the completion of the Suez Canal and the opening of Cairos new ...

The Biblical story of Belshazzar's hubristic arrogance, set against the valour of the young warrrior...

I usually don't like classic operas with modernized production and costumes. This one is an exceptio...

The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pag...

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The Zurich Opera gathered a superb cast for this production: Italian soprano Eva Mei sings the Count...