L'Italo-Americano

18 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013 Gioachino Rossini's Comic Genius Culminates the Opera Season ROBeRTO NATALINI In the wake of last month's tribute to Maestro Verdi, the San Francisco Opera celebrated once again an Italian musical master, concluding in style the fall 2013-14 season. Gioachino Rossini's eternally fresh comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville has enchanted the public during the last month of November, with an acclaimed closing performance last Sunday, December 1 st at the War Memorial Opera House. Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the wonderful version of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, under the supervision of Director Emilio Sagi, featured the return to the podium of resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi, who leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra with "vigor and (San Francisco clarity" Chronicle). Adding a further Italian signature to this eternal play with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini, the cast featured bassbaritone Alessandro Corbelli and bass singer Maurizio Muraro—in his San Francisco Opera debut—in the role of Doctor Bartolo, powerful bass Andrea Silvestrelli in the role of Don Basilio, while the role of Figaro was played by Lucas Meachem and Audun Iversen. Two hundred years after its first performance, the comic style of Gioachino Rossini's opera buffa in two acts is still di qualità, as main character Figaro proclaims when he approaches the stage singing the aria Largo al factotum della città, "make way for the servant of the city." The première of this worldrenown opera, under the title Almaviva, o sia L'inutile precauzione, took place on February 20, 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, Rome. Though it was a disastrous failure, Rossini's work continues to entertain today thanks to a charming score and charismatic cast. The Barber of Seville recounts the first of the plays from the Figaro trilogy, by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais, and has been performed in 27 previous seasons at San Francisco Opera, with a first appearance on September 24, 1925. ject was born." "The scenery raises forth with the music of the overture, emerging with the obscurity, vacuum, the void", he added. "I conceived the opera like a fragile jigsaw puzzle in that each San Francisco Opera in 2008, and returned for many other performances, such as La Bohème, Faust, La Fanciulla del West, Aida, Turandot, Carmen, Rigoletto, and Tosca, as well as the Company's performances at A scene from the Barber of Seville. Photo credit: Cory Weaver, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera Director Emilio Sagi declared: "My principal preoccupation when I began to work on The Barber of Seville was that in seeing the performance one would enjoy the brilliant music of Rossini, from where this theatrical pro- scene is presented like a sketch, forming a series of mosaics, united by that frenetic poetic rhythm of the music, which pulses along the entire length of the opera". Italian Conductor Giuseppe Finzi made his debut with the the 2009 and 2011 Stern Grove Festivals. A native of Bari, Italy, Finzi previously served as assistant conductor, coach, and pianist at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. He made his conducting debut in 2003 with Tosca at the Teatro Rendano in Cosenza, and returned in 2004 for La Traviata. Actively involved in the community, Finzi led a master class with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and conducted their spring production of Così fan tutte this past March. Upcoming engagements include The Nutcracker at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Rigoletto at Palermo's Teatro Massimo, and a new production of Idomeneo at the Theater Lübeck in Germany. San Francisco Opera presented also The Barber of Seville for Families, a special version of Rossini's hilarious and beloved operatic tale. Designed to appeal to audiences of all ages and perfect for families and new operagoers, the performance was a two-hour version of this season's exciting production sung in English with English supertitles. Before the show, it was possible to experience Rossini's delightful comedy in an interactive, multi-generational exploration workshop based on the themes, story, characters, and music of the opera. Gioachino Rossini's Barber has proven again to be one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music, and has been described as the opera buffa of all opere buffe. Even after two hundred years, its popularity on the modern opera stage attests to that greatness. Community Highlights UN.IT (UNESCO Italia) exhibition: Italy's UNESCO World Heritage sites through the lens of acclaimed photographers. (Friday, Dec. 6, Museo ItaloAmericano) Italy has 49 UNESCO World Heritage sites - more than any other single country. This travelling exhibition shows these important sites, which include the preserved city of Pompeii and the ancient rock drawings of Valcamonica, through the lens of 14 acclaimed photographers. For more information visit http://museoitaloamericano.org A related event at the IIC SF is Magie dell'Italia (12 December at 6:30 PM), where filmed material related to Italy's UNESCO sites will be shown along with some of the photographs from the UN.IT exhibition Mercato di Natale (Italian Christmas Market) DIVE and Enjoy Silicon Valley invite you to visit the Museo Italo Americano for their first annual Christmas sale. Some of the items available for purchase are: Artisanal Italian foods, handmade jewelry, Italian fashion accessories, Italian language books for children and unique craft items made by Italian artisans. You will be sure to find that special Christmas gift with an Italian accent for everyone on your list! Buon Natale! Museo Italoamericano Saturday, December 7 10:00AM-6:00PM Sunday, December 8 10:00AM6:00PM Social World Film Festival, New short films from Italy (Sunday, Dec. 8, Italian Cultural Institute) - Four short films by young Italian directors. The patroness of this festival is the actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, who became a household name after her performance in the film Il Postino. The festival will be introduced by IIC Director Paolo SELLING HOMES THROUGHOUT THE BAY AREA Adele Della Santina "The Right Realtor makes all the difference." 650.400.4747 AdeleDS@aol.com www.AdeleDS.com BRE# 00911740 Certified Trust, Probate and Estate Specialist Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation! Barlera and the Italian Consul General, Mauro Battocchi. Ma che difficoltà (15') by Ilaria Cirino Pomicino, starring Marco Cocci, Tosca D'Aquino and Ana Caterina Morariu - Solo un bacio (13') by Simone Petralia - Sento (12') by Mario Vezza, starring Yuri Napoli - Smile (8') by Matteo Pianezzi The event will conclude with a screening of Il Maestro (2011, 12'), Maria Grazia Cucinotta's first short film as a director, starring Renato Scarpa. All films are subtitled in English. The event is free. For more information about the festival and its history, visit www.socialfestival.com Alessandro Martire: Melodia di Vita, Original compositions for piano and pieces by Verdi (Monday, Dec 9, Italian Cultural Institute) - The young Italian pianist and composer Alessandro Martire will play some of his own compositions from his debut album Melodia di Vita as well as a medley of pieces by Verdi in homage to his bicentennial year. For his 'Melodia di Vita World Tour' Alessandro has performed and will perform in many countries including the United States, Britain, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Switzerland and South Korea as well as Italy.

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