As part of its Rossini Week events, Teatru Manoel will be producing the Italian composer's most beloved comic opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Rossini Week runs from 9 to 15 March, with four performances of the opera running on the Teatru Manoel stage throughout the week.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia will be directed by Paul Carr, with musical direction by Maestro Michael Laus who will be conducting the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, with set design by Adrian Mamo and costume design by Denise Mulholland. Talking about the allure of the opera, director Paul Carr said: "Il Barbiere di Siviglia is undoubtedly Rossini's most popular opera, because it is full of memorable tunes and because the plot is ridiculously silly, giving it a lot of scope for comedy". While much of the world of opera tends to be full of drama and heartache (on the stage, but perhaps off it too sometimes!) this opera is full of lightness and pure fun. "This is a welcome change for me as a director. We have a very good cast, all of whom will bring their own comic timing and invention to the piece."
Il Barbiere di Siviglia features performances by local and international performers, including lakin plays Basilio, James Agius plays Fiorello and Alexandra Camilleri Gambin plays Berta. A 12-strong male choir from KorMalta adds to the vocal prowess of the performance, under the direction of Riccardo Bianchi.
Teatru Manoel is one of Europe's oldest working theatres, a baroque gem standing in the middle of the busy capital city of Valletta. The theatre has maintained much of its charm and operates in a traditional way. "The theatre itself is truly magical! It's a bit like travelling back in time," said Paul. "This lends a certain special quality to all productions staged at Teatru Manoel. Without the use of overly-modern technology and machinery, we have to create simple but effective designs, which I believe bring their own magical theatricality and will only enhance the opera's natural playfulness."
As for Paul's favourite bit of the opera, he said with no spoilers that the finale of Act I is definitely up there. "It's brilliantly constructed by Rossini. But I also particularly love Rosina's Music-Lesson scene in Act 2; there's so much scope for comedy and it's a delight - fairly ridiculous, but such fun!"
Il Barbiere di Siviglia was written in 1815 when Rossini himself was just 24 years old, and first performed a year later. Although it was booed on its first night, it went out to be one of the greatest masterpieces of comedic music and has been described as the "opera buffa" of all "opere buffe". After two centuries, it remains a popular opera across the globe.
Performances will take place at Teatru Manoel on 9, 11, 13 and 15 March at 7.30pm. Il Barbiere di Siviglia forms part of Teatru Manoel's Rossini Week, which will also feature recitals of Rossini's Sins of Old Age and Petite .
For more information on this production and to book your tickets visit https://teatrumanoel.mt/event/il-barbiere-di-siviglia/, call the Teatru Manoel Box Office at (+356) 2124 6389 or pop into the Box Office on Old Theatre Street in Valletta