Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia

By 1957, when she was 33, Maria Callas was known primarily for her intense portrayals of tragic heroines. Then came this studio recording of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) where Callas proved she could do comedy too. Her nuanced gifts of timing, tonal shading, and waspish humour energize the set-piece Act I aria “Una voce poco fa,” where the youthful Rosina sharpens her claws against the amorous aspirations of her elderly guardian Bartolo. Callas proves herself an agile team player, too, joining with co-stars Luigi Alva and Tito Gobbi in adroitly weaving a complicated web of intrigue in the vertiginous Act I finale. Conductor Alceo Galliera is a major influence throughout, eliciting elegantly pointed playing from London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. This was Callas’s first stereo opera recording for EMI, and Walter Legge’s astute production lends added buoyancy to a performance which lightens the heart and senses from start to finish.