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Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, December 2, 1957
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (273)
Gioachino Rossini | Cesare Sterbini
- Figaro
- Frank Guarrera
- Rosina
- Victoria de los Angeles
- Count Almaviva
- Cesare Valletti
- Dr. Bartolo
- Fernando Corena
- Don Basilio
- Cesare Siepi
- Berta
- Margaret Roggero
- Fiorello
- Calvin Marsh
- Sergeant
- Alessio De Paolis
- Ambrogio
- Rudolf Mayreder
- Conductor
- Max Rudolf
Review 1:
Review signed W. F. in the Herald Tribune
'Barber of Seville' Repeated by the Met
Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" was repeated Monday night by the Metropolitan Opera Company with Victoria de los Angeles in the role of Rosina for the first time this season. Calvin Marsh sang the minor role of Fiorello for the first time with the company.
Miss de los Angeles' vocal performance was altogether radiant and breathtaking. Last night she was virtually free from the metallic buzz that has been marring her upper range throughout much of the current season. What we were left with, then, was singing of enormous lucidity and style - delicately colored, elegantly phrased and, well, just about as pretty as anything one is likely to hear these days. Her play-acting was alert, to-the-point and without heavily emphasized ingenuousness.
The rest of the cast, too, was very good. Frank Guarrera's Figaro comes over as a lusty, attractive charlatan - sung, it must be admitted, with more animal vigor than high style. Cesare Valletti, as Almaviva, has the style but gave us little aural sensuousness. Dr. Bartolo and Don Basilio, sung by Fernando Corena and Cesare Siepi respectively, were properly oafish and bizarre and they both sang handsomely.
Max Rudolf's conducting was intelligent and stylish but, for some curious reason, a bit limp.
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