The Siege of Corinth
(L’Assedio di Corinto)
By Gioachino Rossini
October 14, 18, 20, and 22, 2006
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
The first U.S. production since 1975.
He ignited a fire in her heart. Then he torched everything else.
In 1815 Teatro San Carlo in Naples hired 23 year old Gioachino Rossini to direct the theater and compose a new opera for every season. The most notable of his creations for Teatro San Carlo was Maometto II , set against the historic war between the Venetians and Turks that ended in a Turkish victory in 1470. In response to contemporary sentiment supporting the Greek struggle for independence from Turkey, Rossini reworked Maometto II in 1826 . He changed the setting to Corinth and made the heroes Greeks rather than Venetians. The Siege of Corinth (originally sung in French as Le Siège de Corinthe ) premiered in Paris and was a tremendous success. The opera was performed frequently, in various versions and languages for about a decade, then disappeared from the repertoire. It was seldom staged during the 20th century with the notable exceptions of a 1969 La Scala production and a 1975 Metropolitan Opera production in which Beverly Sills made her auspicious Met debut.
The score is majestic and the arias are some of the most spectacular and taxing in the entire bel canto repertoire. Two singers who possessthe talent to attempt this opera are soprano Elizabeth Futral and mezzo soprano Vivica Genaux. Miss Futral is one of the world’s premiere bel canto singers and her performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and other prestigious houses have dazzled audiences and critics. Miss Genaux is renowned for her expertise in early music and bel canto embellishment and has impressed audiences at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Barcelona’s Liceu, the Metropolitan Opera and Washington National Opera. Tenor Bruce Ford performs regularly at Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, the Met and La Scala. Widely regarded as one of today's most authoritative Rossini interpreters, he enjoys a close association with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Bel canto specialist and BOC favorite Steven White will conduct.
Running time approximately 3 hours.
10/14, 10/20 at 8:15 pm, 10/18 at 7:30 pm, 10/22 at 3:00 pm
| CAST | |
| Pamira | Elizabeth Futral |
| Neocle | Vivica Genaux |
| Maometto | David Cushing |
| Cleomene | Bruce Ford |
| Ismene | Angela Horn |
| Jero | Brendan Cooke |
| Adrasto | Patrick Toomey |
| Omar | Kelley Anderson |
| Conductor | Steven White |
| Director | Elizabeth Bachman |
 Elizabeth Futral |
 Vivica Genaux |
 Bruce Ford |
 Steven White |
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