Rosina: Larisa Yudina
Count Almaviva: Dmitry Voropaev
Figaro: Vladimir Moroz
Bartolo: Edem Umerov
Basilio: Nikolai Kamensky
Bertha: Irma Gigolaty
World premiere: 20 February 1816, Teatro Argentina, Rome
Premiere at the Bolshoi (Kamenny) Theatre:
27 November 1822 – Imperial Russian Opera Company (performed in Russian, translated by Rafail Zotov)
22 October 1843 – Imperial Italian Opera Company
Premiere of this production: 29 October 2014
Running time: 3 hours 10 minutes
The performance has one interval
What’s the secret of Il barbiere di Siviglia’s eternal youth? Naturally it involves the tradition of comedy in masks, easily recognisable images and situations that are real everywhere and at all times. The plot is simple: some young people want to get married against the wishes of their elderly fathers and guardians. But here the most important characters are the crafty and inventive servants – jacks of all trades, they assist the lovers. But in Rossini’s brilliant opera instead of “maskers” we have real people. All the characters, albeit genetically linked with tradition, are depicted in a new light. Rosina here is no well-educated loving bashful girl; in the original this role was meant for a low-register female voice – typical of operatic practice of the time – and made a “girl with character” of the heroine (it is not by chance that according to Stendhal the first audiences were angered at Rosina appearing as a “war-woman”). In the virtuoso cavatina of the heroine, in line with tradition receiving her lover’s advances, she states that she will be a fine wonderful and faithful wife if... he doesn’t contradict her, of course. Don Basilio is also no conditional masker – instead of a lowly scoundrel and informer we have before us a veritable ideologist of wickedness whose theories are expressed in the famous “calumny aria”.
Pushkin compared Rossini’s sparkling music with the bubbles in a glass of champagne. The most recent stage director, Alain Maratrat, has striven to imbue Il barbiere di Siviglia with a festive mood as well, making the audience participants of his production. The plot of this dynamic production unfolds not just and not so much on-stage – the performers come into the auditorium and truly interact with the audience. The boxes are adorned with flowers and rather than colossal sets there is a blue sky and white drapes, while the costumes are incredibly decorative and varied. The main surprise and the culmination of the opera comes with the appearance of huge towering puppets – these are guests of the masquerade and drunken officers that appear to Bartolo in a dream. Bright and merry, Maratrat’s production is filled with the spirit of Rossini who worked as he lived – overcoming every difficulty with his generous heart. Nadezhda Koulygina
The highlighting of performances by age represents recommendations.
This highlighting is being used in accordance with Federal Law N436-FZ dated 29 December 2010 (edition dated 1 May 2019) "On the protection of children from information that may be harmful to their health"