Opera tonight: Rossini’s Il Bruschino

Although relatively early in Rossini’s output (1813), Il signor Bruschino shows the composer already at the height of his outrageous opera-buffa style. It is a masterpiece of comic verve and invention. Rossini’s idiosyncratic music is there from the start; in the overture, the second violins tap their bows on the metal candle holders attached to their music stands in a rhythmic gesture that pervades the whole piece. The venue for this production is just as enchanting. In the wildly romantic Kurpark in the middle of Germany’s Black Forest, stands the Kurtheater from 1864, looking not unlike a Swiss chalet with neo-baroque elements. Since its re-opening 2005 with Joan Sutherland as patron, the Kurtheater with his only 200 seats has been the heart of a remarkable summer festival Rossini in Wildbad, presided over by Jochen Schönleber, who also directs this production with an excellent cast of Rossinian voices.  Singers include Giorgio Caoduro as Gaudenzio, the tutor; Eleonora Bellocci as Sofia, his ward; Emmanuel Franco as Bruschino senior and Francesco Lucii as Bruschino junior.

Sung in Italian with subtitles in English and Italian.

The Plot:  the rich Gaudenzio has promised his ward Sofia to the son of his friend Bruschino without asking. But the latter is held in an inn with a drinking debt. Florville, Sofia’s lover, unceremoniously poses as Bruschino junior. The identity theft leads to an absurd situation, because the whole world assumes that old Bruschino is denying his paternity – that is until, in the greatest confusion, the prodigal son turns up.

Stream available on 11th August 2023 at 1900 CET/ London 1800/  NY 1300