Simón Orfila

Calixto Bieito controversial take of the Verdi classic "A Masked Ball"

An opera buffa by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was by Giuseppe Palomba after Carlo Goldoni's play Il matrimonio per concorso of 1763. The opera satirizes the influence of newspapers on people's lives. There is critical disagreement as to its success, although the New England Conservatory's notes for their April 2013 production state that the opera "was an immediate hit, and showed Rossini at his comic best."

Bellini - i Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona

The writer Dario Fo applies his inventive genius to Rossini's comic opera in its premiere DVD release. Recorded in 2005 under the musical direction of Maurizio Barbacini, Fo's production brings fresh vitality and colour to the story of Lisetta, and of her father Don Pomponio's increasingly ridiculous attempts to find a husband for her through an advertisement in the newspaper LA GAZZETTA. Filmed using high definition cameras with multitrack sound.

Cenerentola (Joyce DiDonato) is the stepdaughter of Don Magnifico but is treated as a servant in his household. As she sweeps the floor and obeys every command given to her, Cenerentola dreams that she will find her very own Prince Charming. Then one day the handsome Prince Ramiro (Juan Diego Florez) arrives at the mansion, announcing that he's looking for the most beautiful girl in the land to be his bride - which changes Cenerentola's life forever!

Opéra de Giuseppe Rossini enregistré à Pesaro en 2004. Corradino (Juan Diego Flórez) est surnommé "coeur de fer" car il joue au guerrier brutal. Mais, touché par l'amour, il tombera sous la domination de Matilde di Shabran (Olga Peretyatko)... Même s'il s'agit d'une rareté, Matilde di Shabran est bel et bien une oeuvre de premier plan dans la production rossinienne, avec des airs d'une virtuosité et d'une difficulté extrêmes ! Juan Diego Flórez, célèbre pour ses contre-uts explosifs s'en donne à coeur joie dans ce rôle taillé sur mesure.

This is an excellent version of one of the greatest of all comic operas, featuring superb singing and orchestral playing. And it's not just the two headliners; listen, for example, to the entrance of the stepsisters at the beginning of Act One. Nevertheless, some viewers may find the staging problematic, with singers in clown-like costumes and sets featuring human-sized rodents. Those seeking a more conventional production might want to consider the Houston Grand Opera DVD, also on Decca, with Cecilia Bartoli and Raul Jimenez. Both sets are wonderful, but, for me, Joyce Didonato and Juan Diego Florez are slightly to be preferred. Highly recommended.

Le véritable héros de ce Guillaume Tell admirablement complet, présenté à Pesaro en août 2013, est le maestro local Michele Mariotti. L’inimitable ouverture, heureusement non mise en scène, est magnifiquement interprétée, avec de splendides solos de violoncelle et de flûte : le niveau d’excellence ne faiblit jamais. La partition extraordinaire de Rossini, datant de 1829, annonce déjà Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Glinka, Verdi et Wagner, entre autres. La mise en scène de Graham Vick met en avant la lutte des classes, symbolisée par un poing levé sur le rideau rouge et blanc. Les costumes édouardiens opposent les Autrichiens, vêtus de blanc en tenue de soirée, aux Suisses, habillés de noir et chargés de nettoyer le sol pendant que les dirigeants profitent d’un tournage — dont plusieurs séquences suivront. Ainsi, le pêcheur Ruodi se retrouve dans un bateau avec une blonde et un décor artificiel, tandis que Tell et sa famille assurent le support technique.

Lucia di Lammermoor, dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848). Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, after Walter Scott's 'The Bride of Lammermoor'. First performance in Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 26 September 1835 Recording: December 23 2015 - Gran Teatre del Liceu | Barcelona Director: Fabrice Castanier Conductor: Marco Armiliato Orchestra & Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu