Semiramide
Gioachino Rossini
A great opera seria by Rossini served up by no less great a performer in the title role than Karine Deshayes.
Karine Deshayes | Semiramide
Franco Fagioli | Arsace
Giorgi Manoshvili | Assur
Alasdair Kent | Idreno
Mara Gaudenzi | Azema
Antonio Di Matteo | Oroe
Cast to be completed
Valentina Peleggi | direction
Opéra de Rouen Normandie Orchestra
Chœur accentus / Opéra de Rouen Normandie | direction Vito Lombardi
The opera season draws to a close with Rossini’s Semiramide this evening, followed by An Italian Women in Algiers tomorrow. Let us begin with Semiramide. The libretto for this “tragic melodrama” inspired by Voltaire is by Gaetano Rossi, who ten years earlier wrote Tancredi for Rossini based on the same author. Semiramide is Rossini’s longest opera seria, but its scale should not deter audiences as the form of the ensemble is nigh on perfect. We can detect a rare overall balance between the dramatic and powerful subject matter and a highly elegant treatment. The sincerity of love counterbalances treachery and the libretto contains many sudden plot twists. The vocal virtuosity required is enormous, yet absolutely exquisite. The opera seria genre was neglected for many years, but is now making a comeback on the stage, championed by performers who can meet its exacting standards. Karine Deshayes is undoubtedly one of the great singers who can perform this repertoire with the skill it requires.
Production Théâtre des Champs-Elysées