Rossini - La Gazzetta

[reith]

Comic Opera. About 2 1/2 hours.

We managed to borrow the DVDs of the Dario Fo production. (They seem to be the only ones available.) Definitely worth a watch if they come your way.

It's a modern(ish) production - set in the 1920s, judging by at the Charleston-y outfits but keeps the small theatre feeling with a single main set to which bits are added/taken away as needed. The lighting's worth remarking on too.

It's also a bit of a saucy production but brilliantly sung by Cinzia Forte (Lisetta), Pietro Spagnoli (Filippo) and Bruno Pratico as Don Pomponio. Some real hectic singing for the lead males. I'll bet this is the reason why this and similar works are so neglected!