Tonight’s opera: William Show, Don’t Tell
OperaRossini’s thrilling epic, his final masterpiece with the world’s most famous overture, is his most ambitious, forward-looking and vocally challenging opera is brought to you today by Slippedisc, courtesy of OperaVision. Having become the rallying cry of the 1830 revolution in France, Rossini’s final opera is nothing short of revolutionary itself. Retelling the legend of the Swiss folk hero based on Schiller’s play, William Tell is a grandiose ode to freedom. Staged for the first time in Ireland since 1875, this Irish National Opera production is conducted by Fergus Sheil and directed by Julien Chavaz who takes a mythological approach. For him, ‘the story is not just about a remote Swiss community facing Austrian invaders. It is the story of a society that suddenly has to face a threat to its model of civilisation.’ Singers are Brett Polegato as Guillaume Tell, Konu Kim as Arnold Melchtal, Máire Flavin as Mathilde, Amy Ní Fhearraigh as Jemmy.
The Plot: A freedom fighter in Austrian-occupied Switzerland. An oppressive Habsburg governor. The most famous Swiss apple. And a love story that crosses national divides.
Available today 13 January 2023 at 1900 CET / 1800 London / 1300 NY
Thanks for this. Always such fun to perform the Overture in concert.
On your recommendation, I just watched the mess that opera’s next “genius” regisseur put on stage, beginning with a laughable pantomime of the overture. The idea that the founder and MD of the company didn’t put a foot down and say no to this mishegas is beyond me. Also baffling that the work of Gosset and Crutchfield seems entirely unremarked by the musical side of the company.