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Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia Following up on the great success of its Szombathely performance in the summer of 2016, this production of Rossini’s opera buffa was also being staged with a stellar cast at Müpa Budapest the following year. Csaba Káel’s directing places the work in the milieu of silent film, thus putting even greater emphasis on the playfulness and humour in the sparkling wit of Rossini’s music. The production aims to wipe off the centuries of dust that have accumulated on the traditions of how the opera is performed and give it in an original, fresh sound and feel. “The set (the work of Éva Szendrényi) look like something out of a Tim Burton film, with everything slanting sideways in grotesque distortion so that even the performers have to lean over to enter through the door. The cameras set up on each side of the stage are also a fine idea, allowing the vocalists to taking the occasional “singing selfie”. As the review on the Szombathely web portal says: “This 19th century work was much in need of this gentle modernisation, which makes it much more enjoyable and easier to approach. A joint production of the Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra and Müpa Budapest Conductor - Gábor Hollerung Performers: Count Almaviva - René Barbera Bartolo - Bruno de Simone Rosina - Megyesi Schwartz Lúcia Figaro - Pietro Spagnoli Don Basilio - Krisztián Cser Berta - Gabriella Balga Fiorello - Sándor Böjte Featuring: Budapest Studio Choir (choir director: Kálmán Strausz) Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra continuo - Dániel Dinyés Creators: set designer - Éva Szendrényi costume designer - Anikó Németh director of the revival - Sylvie Gábor stage director - Csaba Káel This recording was made at a concert held at Müpa Budapest on 18 February 2017.
