Seoul Opera Company’s First Regular Performance of the Year: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Seoul City Opera Company will present its first regular performance of the year, The Barber of Seville, from August 18 to 22 at the Sejong Center M Theater.

The Barber of Seville is a comic opera that the whole family can enjoy together. The Seoul City Opera Company originally planned to perform it in May, the month of family, but the performance was postponed by three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Barber of Seville is a representative work by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. Rossini completed The Barber of Seville in just about ten days in his mid-twenties. He based the work on the first part of the three-part comedy by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais, titled The Barber of Seville, and set music to the libretto by Cesare Sterbini, premiering the work in Rome in 1816.

The Barber of Seville depicts the story that precedes Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. The plot follows the young Count Almaviva, who falls in love with the beautiful Rosina and follows her to Seville. With the help of Figaro, the town’s barber and all-around problem solver, Almaviva outwits Rosina’s elderly guardian Bartolo and completes his love for her.

This performance will showcase the essence of bel canto opera under the direction of Jang Seo-mun, who has been praised for his youthful sensibility and delicate direction, and conductor Gu Mo-young, currently serving as the principal conductor of the Cheonan City Symphony Orchestra.

Additionally, audiences will be able to see talented vocalists actively performing in Europe and Korea, along with promising young talents selected through auditions. The witty town problem solver Figaro will be played by baritones Gong Byung-woo, Ahn Dae-hyun, and Kim Eun-gon; the young Count Almaviva, who loves Rosina, will be portrayed by tenors Heo Nam-won, Jung Je-yoon, and Kim Jae-il; the charming and bold Rosina will be performed by sopranos Byeon Ji-young, Lee Gyeol, and Kim Ye-eun; the scheming Bartolo, who covets Rosina’s inheritance, will be played by bass-baritone Seong Seung-min and baritone Yeom Hyun-jun; Bartolo’s accomplice and Rosina’s music teacher Basilio will be portrayed by basses Jeon Seung-hyun, Lee Dae-beom, and Park Ui-hyun; Bartolo’s maid Berta will be performed by mezzo-soprano Lee Mi-ran and soprano Kwak Re-na; and the role of Fiorello will be played by bass-baritone Park Yo-seop.

This performance will strictly adhere to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, prioritizing the safety of the audience and performers by implementing measures such as electronic health questionnaires via QR codes, mandatory mask-wearing, and socially distanced seating arrangements.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.