Il Barbiere di Siviglia Is the Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Il Barbiere di Siviglia, a two-act comic opera by Gioachino Rossini.

Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia airs as the Jan. 28, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera, via Twitter Jan. 9, 2017

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (“The Barber of Seville”), a two-act, opera buffa (“comic opera”) by Italian composer Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868), is the Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian librettist and writer Cesare Sterbini (1784-Jan. 19, 1831) wrote the original Italian libretto. The literary source is Le Barbier de Séville ou la Précaution Inutile, a four-act play by French dramatist, musician, poet and writer Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (Jan. 24, 1732-May 18, 1799).

Premiering Feb. 23, 1775, at Comédie-Française in the Théâtre des Tuileries, Le Barbier de Séville was the first of Beaumarchais’ Figaro-based trilogy. The second installment, La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro (“The Mad Day or the Marriage of Figaro”), inspired Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

The third installment, L'Autre Tartuffe ou La Mère Coupable (“The Other Tartuffe or the Guilty Mother”), has generated three lesser-known operas: La Mère Coupable (1966) by French composer and conductor Darius Milhaud (Sept. 4, 1892-June 22, 1974); Den Brottsliga Modern (1992) by Swedish composer, conductor and pianist Inger Wikstrom (born Dec. 11, 1939); L’Amour Coupable (2010) by modern French composer Thierry Pécou (born 1965).

The premiere of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia took place Feb. 20, 1816. The venue was Teatro Argentina, located in Largo di Torre Argentina, in the historic center of Rome, Lazio region, west central Italy. Designed by Italian architect and nobleman Girolamo Theodoli (1677-Oct. 17, 1766), Teatro Argentina opened Jan. 31, 1732.

Rossini’s opera honors the time setting of Beaumarchais’ play. Il Barbiere di Siviglia takes place in 18th century Seville in southern Spain.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Il Barbiere di Siviglia begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 3 hours 4 minutes. The performance, sung in the original Italian, comprises two acts and one intermission.

Act I is timed at 93 minutes. A 32-minute intermission follows Act I.

Act II is timed at 69 minutes. The Saturday matinee broadcast performance ends with Act III’s final notes.

Maurizio Benini conducts all performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. His birthplace is Faenza, Ravenna province, northeastern Italy. The Italian conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1998 production of L’Elisir d’Amore by Italian bel canto opera composer Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848). This season Maurizio Benini also conducts I Puritani by Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835).

Peter Mattei appears in the title role as Figaro, the barber of Seville. He was born in Piteå, Norrbotten County, northeastern Sweden. The Swedish operatic baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). This season Peter Mattei also appears in the title role of Eugene Onegin by Russian late-Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

Peter Mattei shares the role of Figaro this season with Edward Parks. Peter Mattei appears in most January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and all February performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Edward Parks appears in the opera’s Jan. 21 and Jan. 24 performances. His birthplace is Indiana, west central Pennsylvania. The American baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009 as Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Pretty Yende appears as Rosina, who is viewed as wife material by Bartolo, her guardian, and by Count Almaviva. She was born in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga province, eastern South Africa. The South African operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013 as Adèle in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory. This season Pretty Yende also appears as Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani and as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette by Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Dmitry Korchak appears as Count Almaviva, who undergoes several disguises in his pursuit of Rosina. His birthplace is Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, northwestern Russia. The Russian tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2015 as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Dmitry Korchak shares the role of Count Almaviva this season with Javier Camarena. Dmitry Korchak appears in half of the January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and all of the February performances.

Javier Camarena appears as Count Almaviva in the Jan. 9, Jan. 13 and Jan. 18 performances. He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, eastern Mexico. The Mexican operatic tenor reprises his 2011 Metropolitan Opera debut role. This season Javier Camarena also appears as Lord Arthur “Arturo” Talbot in Bellini’s I Puritani.

Maurizio Muraro appears as Dr. Bartolo, the doctor who has designs on Rosina, his ward, and especially on Rosina’s dowery. His birthplace is Como, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. The Italian operatic bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 as Dr. Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Maurizio Muraro reprises his debut role for the Met’s 2016-2017 production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

Maurizio Muraro shares the role of Bartolo this season with Valeriano Lanchas. Maurizo Muraro appears in all January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and most of the February performances.

Valeriano Lanchas appears in the opera’s Feb. 8 performance. He was born in Bogotá, Distrito Capital, central Colombia. The Colombian baritone-bass reprises his 2015 Metropolitan Opera debut role.

Mikhail Petrenko appears as Don Basilio, Rosina’s music teacher. His birthplace is St. Petersburg, northwestern Russia. The Russian bass debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Bolkonsky’s Valet in War and Peace by Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). This season Mikhail Petrenko also appears as Frère Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and as the First Nazarene in Salome by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

Mikhail Petrenko shares the role of Don Basilio this season with Oren Gradus. Mikhail Petrenko appears in most January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and all February performances.

Oren Gradus appears in the opera’s Jan. 21 performance. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. The American bass debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as the Guardian of Ores in Richard Strauss’s Elektra. Oren Gradus also appears this season as the Duke of Verona in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

Operabase, an online database, places Gioachino Rossini at number four in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Il Barbiere di Siviglia places at 7 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Der Rosenkavalier holds place 12, with 622 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Nov. 23, 1883, to last performance, Jan. 1, 2016. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Il Barbiere di Siviglia as the Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is a happy ending with the triumph of young love over all ridiculous obstacles, thanks to the comic, creative strategies by opera’s favorite barber.

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia mark the seventh revival of Bartlett Sher's new staging, which debuted Nov. 10, 2006, at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 9, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia airs as the Jan. 28, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera, via Twitter Jan. 9, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/818562034157715461

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia mark the seventh revival of Bartlett Sher's new staging, which debuted Nov. 10, 2006, at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 9, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158157839060533.1073741923.20807115532/10158157839430533/

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera. "Plans tonight in #NewYork? Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at #MetOpera." Twitter. Jan. 9, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/818562034157715461

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia opens tonight, Jan 9! Peter Mattei reprises the role of the wily barber Figaro. Bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena as the lovers Rosina and Count Almaviva. Maurizio Benini conducts. bit.ly/2j0BmgN." Facebook. Jan. 9, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158157839060533.1073741923.20807115532/10158157839430533/

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml