Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)

The 200th anniversary since the premiere of the opera Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) is celebrated in 2016 around the world and the Greek National Opera presents a new, inspiring production of Rossini’s masterpiece, conducted by Miltos Logiadis and Konstantinos Diminakis, and directed by the eminent Italian director Franscesco Micheli. The production will run for 10 shows, from 13th February, at the Olympia Theatre.

The opera needs no introduction. The witty, swift and notably melodic music accompanies a series of comic events, as the barber Figaro helps Count Almaviva marry beautiful Rosina, who resides with her elderly guardian Doctor Bartolo, who, in turn, has his eyes set on her. Francesco Micheli projects the timeless issues of the opera into the imaginary and real world of Rosina, in his view the real protagonist of the story.

The classic success of The Barber of Seville is based on Rossini’s inspiration. Since the essential character of the opera’s figures and circumstances is to be found in the elements of music (i.e. melody, rhythm, harmony), its libretto plays the role of a compass. In The Barber, as in the case of baroque music, the audience may follow the plot without having to comprehend the libretto word for word, for the narrator’s role is undertaken by music itself, addressing directly the world of emotions. Don Basilio’s aria is a typical example: it is not necessary to understand the lyrics in order to be convinced about the tremendous power of slander – the interpretation of music is quite capable of expounding the whisper that culminates to a formidable outburst.

The famous opera premiered in Rome, in February 1816. The story of this opera work is quite interesting both on account of how it was composed and its acclamation by the Italian and international public. The premiere took place on 20th February 1816, at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. On the 17th of the previous month, Rossini had not even started composing it because Duke Francesco Sforza had not handed him the libretto. Finally, on 6th February, the 24-year-old Rossini finished the 1st Act of the opera and by 20th February when the first show was held, completed the composition as well as the orchestration. By today’s standards, the fact that the composition of such a work was completed within just 24 days seems unreal. However, those days time was appreciated differently: When Gaetano Donizetti heard about the time it took for Rossini to compose Τhe Barber, he exclaimed: “I’m not surprised; he has always been slow in composing”. After all, the fact that the composition of The Italian Woman in Algiers took Rossini just 18 days is quite telling!

The world described in The Barber of Seville is pleasure-seeking, cynical; a world filled with egocentric characters, exactly like the social environment which Rossini experienced daily as a young man in Italy. Money makes everything possible: Almaviva pays the singers, bribes Don Basilio twice and gives a handsome reward to Figaro, who explains that even the mere idea of gold makes him function better. Two hundred years later, it is obvious to all that few things have changed…

For the new production of The Barber, the GNO assigned the direction to the artistic director of the renowned Macerata Opera Festival (Italy), Francesco Micheli, who has made an impressive career in major Italian opera houses (Arena in Verona, Fenice in Venice, Palermo, et. al.), as well as in theatres outside Italy, such as those of Nice-France and Beijing. The sensational stage set is created by Nicolas Bovey, who is also responsible for the lighting, while the multi-coloured costumes are designed by Gianluca Falaschi. Panagiotis Tomaras has undertaken the visual design.

The distinguished Greek conductor, Miltos Logiadis, and the promising Konstantinos Diminakis, conduct the opera. The GNO chorus is directed by Agathangelos Georgakatos. The role of Figaro is double-cast by two Greek baritones, Dionyssis Sourbis and Harris Andrianos. Rosina is incarnated by the GNO’s sopranos, Vassiliki Karayanni and Mina Polychronou. Antonis (Anthony) Koroneos and Nikos Stefanou hold the role of Count Almaviva, Dimitris Kassioumis and Nikos Stefanou the part of Bartolo, and Tasos Apostolou and Petros Magoulas the role of Basilio. Well-known numerous Greek soloists complete the cast.

Tickets prices: 15€, 30€, 35€, 45€, 55€, 60€ - Students, children: 12 – Limited visibility: 10€, 15€, 17€, 25€

150 special price, 5 euro tickets will be available for the evening show of Sunday, February 14th

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