Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia - Region 1 DVD

Rossini's 1816 work, based on Beaumarchais's Figaro characters, is one of the great joys of comic opera, crammed with familiar arias and duets, all of which drive the galloping pace of the book without ever interrupting the plot. At the heart of the tale is Figaro (Hermann Prey, making the most of his trademark theme "Largo al factotum") and the love triangle of Count Almaviva (a lusty Luigi Alva), the willful Rosina (Teresa Berganza at the peak of her mezzo-soprano powers), and her guardian with an ulterior motive Bartolo (Enzo Dara). --Piers Ford