Rossini, IL barbiere di Siviglia

By ?James L. Zychowicz

Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard – Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews

Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Donato Renzetti(conductor) Lyric Opera Center, Chicago 16.2.2008 (JLZ)

Production:
Director: John Copley?Set Design: John Conklin?Costumes: Michael Stennett?Lighting: Duane Schuler?Chorus Master: Donald Nally

Cast:
Figaro: Nathan Gunn?Rosina: Joyce DiDonato?Count Almaviva: John Osborn?Dr. Bartolo: Philip Kraus?Don Basilio: Wayne Tigges?Berta: Lauren Curnow?Fiorello: Daniel Billings ?Sergeant: David Portillo?Ambrogio: David Zarbock

When art inspires music, the results can be intriguing. From Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition through to Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, a number of memorable works have emerged over the years. In fact the 2006-7 season of Lyric Opera of Chicago included a production of Verdi’s Il trovatore that took some paintings by Goya as the points of departure for a riveting presentation. With the revival of Lyric’s latest production of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, the set designer John Conklin was commissioned by the late Ardis Kranik and Bill Mason for a new staging of that venerable comedy. According to the programme notes, he found Rossini’s Il barbiere to involve “an amazing mixture of commedia dell’arte and surreal happenings” which turned his attention to the art of René Magritte. Magritte’s influence makes this production weigh cleverness and artifice against the musical elements in a staging that sometimes challenges the usual conventions associated with the work.

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G. Rossini’s Mosè

Now that the Rossini revival has passed the quarter century mark, it seems fitting for the opera world to take a look at performances before the advent of critical perusal of Rossini’s operas. One such look leads us to his Mosè recorded for RAI in Rome on June 27th, 1956. This is the Italian version of the French work, Moise et Pharaon listed in the notes as a Melodramma sacro in quattro atti.

The committed cast offers some exciting singing at times that could meet today’s vocal scrutiny. Bass, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni’s sound is a little woolly but he makes an imposing biblical leader. Tenor, Agostino Lazzari gives a good account of Elisero but is unschooled in Rossinian technique. The compramari raise the vocal level with soprano,Rosanna Cartieri as Sinaide, bass, Plinio Clabassi as Osiride and Anna Maria Rota as Maria.The two artists that stand out are soprano, Anita Cerquetti as Anaide and baritone, Giuseppe Taddei as Faraone whose impressive vocals compliment Rossini’s multifaceted scoring and would be welcome on today’s stages. Tulio Serafin conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the RAI with a sure hand, giving Rossini’s music a bit of Verdian energy especially in the closing music expressing the parting of the Red Sea.

1995 Eklipse Records Ltd. EKR P-10

Verdi, Falstaff: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago

By James L Zychowicz

Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard – Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews

Sir Andrew Davis (conductor), Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago 1.2.2008 (JLZ)

Production:
Stage Director: Olivier Tambosi
Set and Costume Designer: Frank Philipp Schlössmann
Lighting Designer: Christine Binder
Stage Band Conductor: Craig Terry
Chorus Master: Donald Nally
Stage Manager: John W. Coleman

Cast :
Dr. Caius: David Cangelosi
Sir John Falstaff: Andrew Shore
Bardolfo: Rodell Rosel
Pistola: Andrew Funk
Meg Page: Elizabeth de Shong
Alice Ford: Veronica Villarrroel
Mistress Quickly: Meredith Awardy
Nannetta: Stacey Tappan
Ford: Boaz Daniel
Fenton: Bryan Griffin

If the focus of Falstaff is on the ensemble of characters that comprise the opera, the current production by Lyric Opera of Chicago brings a new standard to the execution of the work. Just as the opera is the result of the interaction of individual roles, the entire cast worked well together in arriving at a production that was seamless and natural. Yet in bringing to life the title character Falstaff, the English baritone Andrew Shore shared the stage well with his colleagues. Such a shared presence was part of the entire production, as the individual scenes allowed the story to unfold and, more importantly, made the Finale particularly memorable, when all the characters are on stage in a number that celebrates the human condition (”Tutto nel mondo é burla”).

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