Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina headlines as the heroine Rosina alongside tenor Jack Swanson as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky stars as Figaro, the barber of Seville, with bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts.
From the Met: "The paradox of Rossini’s music is that the comedy can soar only with disciplined mastery of vocal technique. The singers must be capable of long vocal lines of attention-holding beauty as well as the rapid runs of coloratura singing.
"The score features solos of astounding speed in comic, tongue-twisting patter forms, especially the title role’s well-known Act I showstopper, “Largo al factotum.” Beyond the brilliant solos, the singers must blend well with one another in the complex ensembles that occur throughout the opera."
Read the synopsis from the Metropolitan Opera.
Composer: Gioachino Rossini
Libretto: Cesare Sterbini
CAST
Rosina: Aigul Akhmetshina
Count Almaviva: Jack Swanson
Figaro: Andrey Zhilikhovsky
Dr. Bartolo: Peter Kálmán
Don Basilio: Alexander Vinogradov
