Joyce’s Barber…
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
The performers are:
Juan Diego Florez (Count Almaviva), Joyce DiDonato (Rosina), Pietro Spagnoli (Figaro), Alessandro Corbelli (Doctor Bartolo), Ferruccio Furlanetto (Don Basilio), Jennifer Rhys-Davies (Berta), Changhan Lim (Fiorello), Bryan Secombe (Ambrogio), Christoper Lackner (Officer), Andrew Macnair (Notary)
And… the Orchestra & Chorus of The Royal Opera House, conducted by Antonio Pappano
This performance was recorded at London’s Royal Opera House with an amazing cast in a sparkling, colorful production. This “Barbiere” offers a unique dramatic twist: Joyce DiDonato, who had broken her leg on the first night of the run, insisted on performing. And she said: ”Being trapped in the wheelchair was a quite literal way of demonstrating Rosina’s huge desire to break free.”
This was how The Guardian reported the story:
“There is a moment … when Rosina complains that she has cramp in her foot – and the line has never seemed more appropriate than this week at Covent Garden. Joyce DiDonato … would have achieved wonderful reviews for her voice alone: luscious and clear, with a freshness that filled the theatre. It was as good a performance as anyone could remember … but the event that made it extraordinary occurred during the first act on the opening night. DiDonato slipped, hurting her ankle, and sang for the next three hours supported by a crutch. It turned out to be a fracture, but rather than withdrawing from the show she pressed on, singing and acting largely from a wheelchair…”
Here is Joyce DiDonato introducing this DVD:
And here you’ll see Rossini’s Barbiere in a Milan performance, with Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Florez:
As an ‘encore’ for you, here’s Joyce DiDonato singing Cherubino’s aria from Mozart’s “Nozze di Figaro” from her Madrid recital:
Tags: Joyce DiDonato, Barber of Seville, Rossini