The beautiful Rosina is kept all but prisoner by her guardian Dr Bartolo, who secretly hopes to marry his wealthy ward.

But when Count Almaviva falls in love with Rosina from afar, he enlists the help of cunning barber Figaro to help him outwit Bartolo. A comic battle of wills ensues, but will love or greed be triumphant?

Verdi thought it the greatest operatic comedy – a perfect marriage of wit, energy and exhilarating musical invention. Rossini’s score fizzes with virtuosic brilliance, combining bravura solo arias, set to some of the composer’s best-loved melodies, with breath-taking, intricate ensembles, weaving together the story’s many strands into glittering musical and dramatic harmony.

Embracing the opera’s commedia dell’arte origins, Annabel Arden’s production is suffused with Spanish colour and warmth. Rafael Payare conducts a revival starring 2017 Operalia winner Levy Sekgapane that also reunites the blissful comic double-act of Alessandro Corbelli and Janis Kelly.

Glyndebourne Festival Opera. 19 May – 14 July 2019.

A sparkling revival

Bachtrack

Cast & creatives

Conductor Rafael Payare
Director Annabel Arden
Revival Director Sinéad O’Neill
Designer Joanna Parker
Director of Movement Toby Sedgwick
Lighting Designer James Farncombe
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Fortepiano continuo James Sherlock
The Glyndebourne Chorus
Chorus Master Aidan Oliver
Assistant Conductor Johann Stuckenbruck
Staff Directors Steven Whiting, Simone Ibbett-Brown

Hera Hyesang Park… is as beguiling musically as she is theatrically

Financial Times

Clever and stylish

The Times