Orchestral Nuances

Thanks to a sparkling 'Barber of Seville',
GIUSEPPE PENNISI rediscovers
the beauty of Rossini's orchestration

Il Barbiere di Siviglia is the only Rossini opera which has always been on stage, even during the Romanticism and Verismo periods when most of his productions had disappeared from the theatres of Europe and North America. The libretto is a lot of fun and the music sparkles like good, earthy red Lambrusco wine, whereas Paisiello's earlier Barbiere is sentimental and slightly melancholic. The Rossini opera is not merely slapstick. It is more subtle than it superficially appears to be. Dramatically and musically, Il Barbiere contrasts two parallel but quite distinct worlds: that of Figaro -- efficient, quick, someone who calls a spade a spade -- and that of all the other characters, all left behind, fearful and yielding, verbose and bombastic...

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

PARMA

ITALY