Rosina Roccavilla

Not everyone will approve, but there are ways in which this super-budget set of Il barbiere diSiviglia puts to shame just about every other version of the opera there has been. Those it may not please are specialist vocal collectors for whom Il barbiere is primarily a repository of vocal test pieces. If, however, you regard Il barbiere (Rossini, ex-Beaumarchais) as a gloriously subversive music drama – vibrant, scurrilous, vital – then this recording is guaranteed to give a great deal of pleasure.

Cecilia Bartoli made this recording when she was still in her early 20s, a mezzo with a rich, vibrant voice who not only copes brilliantly with the technical demands but who also gives a winningly provocative characterization. Like the conductor, Bartoli is wonderful at bringing out the fun.

The most comprehensive edition devoted to Gioachino Rossini marking his 150th anniversary. Born in 1792, Rossini was the most popular opera composer of his time. Although he retired from the Opera scene in 1829, he continued to compose in other genres, including sacred music, piano and chamber works. He did gather his late works under the ironic title Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), which veils a true collection of masterworks.

Of Rossini’s thirty-nine operas Il barbiere di Siviglia is the only one to have remained in the repertoire since its composition. When the composer met Beethoven in Vienna the great man told Rossini to only compose buffa operas like Il Barbiere. Verdi was also a great admirer of the work as he was of Rossini’s opera seria and particularly his William Tell. Il Barbiere was one of the works Rossini squeezed in during his contract as Musical Director of the Royal Theatres at Naples and where he was supposed to present two new works every year.

Claudio Abbado’s career with Deutsche Grammophon stretched back over more than four decades. He was as much a man of the theater as he was one of the greatest of all late 20th century symphonic conductors, and many of his opera recordings remain unsurpassed in the catalog. Building on the huge success of Claudio Abbado – The Symphony Edition, comes The Opera Edition: 60 CDs presenting Maestro’s complete opera recordings for Deutsche Gramophone and Decca.

In purgatory, the Ghosts of Versailles are waiting impatiently for Beaumarchais' new play: what if he manages to save Marie Antoinette from the scaffold? Here is Count Almaviva, the famous Figaro, but also Rosina and Cherubino, plunged into a thousand twists and turns to make the famous Queen's Necklace disappear, thwarting the spies of the Revolution. But the situation escapes it's creator, and Beaumarchais must himself become involved in the trial of the Queen - with whom he is in love? With assumed brio, Corigliano's music navigates between Mozart and Rossini, and takes the audience into an unexpected opera, all the characters of which are familiar to us! The Ghosts of Versailles are indeed there, and will fulfil their destiny once again…

Josef Lhevinne studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Vasily Safonov, made his public debut at fourteen in a performance conducted by Anton Rubinstein, and graduated top of a class that included both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin. Lhevinne is often included as one of the greatest golden-era pianists, and yet, his recorded legacy is approximately fifty minutes of repertoire for Pathé and Victor, albeit treasured and admired. And not unlike a star whose light went out too soon, the public created a mythos based on a small output and clamors for more examples of his playing to further justify his reputation. The wait is now over.