Photo: Apple MusicRossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
A Fresh Glass of Iced Champagne
If Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is a bittersweet human comedy steeped in forgiveness and melancholy, Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is a bottle of chilled vintage champagne uncorked with exhilarating abandon on a summer afternoon.
The effervescence surges instantly: citrus, bright Mediterranean sunshine, and unapologetic laughter fill the room. In Rossini’s world, no one worries about cosmic despair; every predicament can be dismantled with a barber’s silver tongue, a purse of gold coins, and a machine-gun spray of coloratura pyrotechnics.
Recorded in London in 1974 by a thirty-one-year-old James Levine leading the London Symphony Orchestra, this EMI set remains half a century later the benchmark for sheer theatrical exuberance.
Bubbles, Coloratura, and Silver High Fs
As Rosina, Beverly Sills—affectionately known across America as “Bubbles”—delivers one of the most radiant portrayals in discographic history.
When she launches into her famous Act I cavatina “Una voce poco fa,” the studio air fairly crackles. Sills does not play Rosina as a timid victim of her guardian’s clutches, but as a razor-sharp, sparkling schemer: “I am docile, I am respectful… but if you cross me, I have a hundred traps ready to spring!”
Her silver vocal timbre and effortless roulades sparkle like colored marbles bouncing off crystal goblets. Meanwhile, Sherrill Milnes storms through the front door as Figaro with his booming “Largo al factotum,” his bronze baritone ringing out with unstoppable swagger as Seville’s indispensable fixer.
The Sovereign Antidote to Gloom
When the London Symphony Orchestra surges beneath Levine’s buoyant baton into those trademark “Rossini crescendos,” the accumulated heaviness of modern life simply evaporates.
Sometimes we do not seek out music to interrogate our suffering or seek spiritual repentance. Sometimes we simply need two hours in the company of brilliant eccentrics who outwit pompous tyrants, don preposterous disguises, and toast triumphantly in a blaze of high-octane ensemble singing.
If your spirits feel grey today, turn on this Barber of Seville. From Sills’ very first silvery chuckle, the world will instantly burst back into vivid technicolor.
About the Performer
Legendary American coloratura soprano (1929–2007), affectionate icon known as 'Bubbles'. Celebrated for dazzling bel canto agility, effortless high notes, and warm, bubbly comedic timing.
Preeminent American dramatic baritone (b. 1935). Leading Verdi and bel canto baritone at the Metropolitan Opera for three decades, revered for rich ringing resonance.
Swedish operatic tenor (1925–2017). One of the most versatile tenors in recording history, renowned for aristocratic elegance and effortless high register.
American conductor (1943–2021). Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera for 40 years, celebrated for boundless theatrical energy and sparkling orchestral transparency.
Premier British symphony orchestra, delivering sparkling Italianate buoyancy and crackling rhythmic precision.
About the Composer
Italian bel canto master composer (1792–1868). Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816) stands as the supreme pinnacle of Italian opera buffa, celebrated for whirlwind crescendos and sparkling vocal pyrotechnics.
Taiwan Performance History
Neither soprano Beverly Sills nor conductor James Levine performed in Taiwan. Baritone Sherrill Milnes and tenor Nicolai Gedda also centered their international careers primarily across the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and Vienna.