(Photo: Miklos Szabo) It is well known that the premiere night of “The Barber of Seville” was a resounding failure. A series of onstage mishaps, boos from the audience, and even a black cat crossing the stage forced Gioachino Rossini to flee the theater to avoid, in his own words, “being killed by the audience for their unbridled passion.” Yet {…}
(Photo credit: Keith Saunders) One of the benefits of reviewing operas is the opportunity to take guests whose experience of opera may be comparatively recent, and whose reactions are refreshingly unbound by preconceptions. At the end of scene one of Opera Australia’s “The Barber of Seville” at Sydney Opera House on Saturday January the 18th my guest on the night {…}
(Photo: “The Barber of Seville” debuted just over 200 years ago in Rome. The opera played to a jeering audience, a staged event where adherents of the composer Giovanni Paisiello – whose own version of the opera, “Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile” had pleased operagoers 20 years earlier – packed the house and catcalled throughout the premiere {…}
Elijah Moshinsky’s production of “The Barber of Seville” will return to the Sydney Opera House for its 30th anniversary season in January 2025. To celebrate the anniversary, Opera Australia is offering 30 tickets for only $30 each for every performance in its six-week run. The $30 ticket promotion is just one of many initiatives OA has implemented with the aim {…}
(Photo credit: Eric Woolsey) No matter the repertory selected, Opera Theatre Saint Louis’s (OTSL) 2024 season would have faced a significant challenge: following their memorable 2023 season and its refreshing inclusion of many singers of color. Surrounding a forgettable “Cosí Fan Tutte,” three productions made maximal artistic impact, including a fine “Tosca” starring Katie Van Kooten and Hunter Enoch as {…}
(Photo credit: Eric Woolsey) “The Barber of Seville” can be tough to sit through. Opera Theatre Saint Louis (OTSL) swam upstream furiously against the libretto’s banalities to produce an entertaining show, with standout performances from Justin Austin in the title role, and Hongni Wu as Rosina. In youth, I received as a gift the London/Decca recording featuring Leo Nucci as {…}
Baton Rouge’s Opéra Louisiane is set to present Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” The opera, which is based on the play called “Le Barbier de Séville” by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais, is the first of three plays about a character Figaro. For this production, the famed opera will star Scott Purcell as Figaro, and Hannah Ludwig as Rosina. They will {…}
Charles Court Opera is set to perform Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” The opera will be performed from March 12 to March 23, 2024 with a cast that includes Nicholas Watts and Joseph Doody as Count Almaviva, Jonathan Eyers as Figaro, Samantha Price and Meriel Cunningham as Rosina, Matthew Kellett and Hugo Herman-Wilson as Don Basilio, Catrine Kirkman as Berta {…}
Opera San José is set to participate in the SoFA District’s evening art walk “South First Friday” on Nov. 3, 2023. As part of the celebration of arts and culture in the city, the opera company will present a preview of its upcoming “The Barber of Seville” production with events taking place from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. First up, audiences {…}
Light Opera of NJ has announced its “Tap the Talent” Volunteer Initiative. The initiative is calling for people passionate about opera to work with the creative team on upcoming shows. All levels of experience are welcome. “Are you passionate about the performing arts? Do you miss the thrill of being on stage or behind the scenes or would like to {…}
This week the Pittsburgh Opera will open its season with “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” featuring a cast of rising stars making company debuts. Among them is Lunga Eric Hallam, who will make his debut with the Pittsburgh Opera. The tenor from Cape Town will take on the role of the Count of Almaviva, making his role debut. This will mark {…}