Poster courtesy of Nice Opera
Nice Opera stages a new production of Giachino Rossini’s Le barbier de Séville (The Barber of Seville), with a cast led by Rossinians Lilly Jørstad, Dave Monaco and Gurgen Baveyan. Lilly Jørstad sings the role of Rosina, tenor Dave Monaco is Count Almaviva, bass-baritone Gurgen Baveyan is the barber Figaro, and baritone Marc Barrard is Dr Bartolo. The production is conducted by Beatrice Venezi, and directed by Benoît Bénichou who has staged productions at many of the major opera houses of Europe.
Rossini wrote his two-act melodramma buffo to an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini, which was based on Pierre Beaumarchais’s 1775 comedy Le barbier de Séville or La précaution inutile. It premiered on February 20, 1816, at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
Set in Spain, towards the end of the 18th century, the action tells of Rosina, the beautiful young ward of Dr Bartolo, and the two suitors who desire her hand in marriage – Count Almaviva and Bartolo himself. Rosina has already fallen for the Count, following his serenade to her, and the town barber, Figaro – who knows all the secrets and scandals – sees an opportunity to make some money from Almaviva, hatching a plan for the Count to gain access to Bartolo’s house. The twists and turns of the plot are enough to confuse anyone, but carried along by some of the most popular music in the operatic repertoire, this wonderfully entertaining and enjoyable opera reaches its denouement with Almaviva and Rosina celebrating their marriage, Bartolo’s acceptance of defeat (for which he’s rewarded with Rosina’s dowry), and Figaro pocketing a handsome payment from the Count.
Norwegian mezzo-soprano Lilly Jørstad made her debut in the role of Rosina in 2015 on the main stage of Teatro alla Scala, and has since sung the role at Wiener Staatsoper, at Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Den Norske Opera in Oslo and at Semperoper Dresden. Other highlights of her career include the roles of Sara in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux at Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Fjodor in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov at Teatro alla Scala Milan, and Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at La Monnaie Brussels.
Italian tenor Dave Monaco, who is quoted as saying that “Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart”, is regarded as one of the most talented young tenors in the Rossini and bel canto repertoire. He has appeared in productions such as Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, reprising the role at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and the Teatro Verdi di Trieste, and in 2024, he made his debut as Ruodi at Teatro alla Scala in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell. Among his upcoming engagements are Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Opéra national de Lorraine, Il barbiere di Siviglia at La Fenice in Venice, and Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri at the Opera di Roma.
Armenian baritone Gurgen Bayevan is, according to Resmusica “…. a first-rate Figaro with candid acting, clear and powerful hight notes and charming stage presence. No wonder why he made it his signature role on many stages”. A specialist in the Italian bel canto repertoire, he is highly regarded following his appearances in major European opera houses, in roles such as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Teatro Regio Torino, Schaunard in Puccini’s La bohème at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Marcello in La bohème with Nederlandse Reisopera and Figaro at Staatstheater Hannover. Concert appearances include those at the Ravenna Festival, Maggio Musicale Florence, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Festival of White Nights with the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.
Baritone Marc Barrard has appeared in Rossini operas such as Geronio in Il Turco in Italia, Raimbaud in Le Comte Ory and Dandini in La Cenerentola. He has also sung the title role in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore, Enrico in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Riccardo in Bellini’s I Puritani, and has performed with Monte-Carlo Opera, in many of the major opera houses in France, as well as in Montreal, Seville, Lausanne, Barcelona, Rome, Geneva, Hamburg and Berlin.
Other members of the cast include bass-baritone Adrian Sanpetrean as Basilio, Cristina Giannelli as Berta and Thibaut Desplantes as Fiorello
Sets are by Christophe Ouvrard, costumes by Bruno Fatalot, lighting by Mathieu Cabanes and video by Laurent de la Rosa.
Beatrice Venezi, Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Milano Classica and of the Orchestra Scarlatti Young in Naples, leads the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nice Opera Chorus, at Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur, in four performances of Rossini’s Le barbiere de Séville between May 2nd and 8th.The opera is sung in Italian and surtitled in French and English.
For €5, 5 to 10 year olds are invited to discover opera by taking part in an original cultural activity while their parents are watching the show, on Sunday May 4 at 3pm. For bookings, subject to availability, go to the box office.
Information sourced from
Nice Opera programme notes
Metropolitan Opera
Artists’ websites
This article first appeared in Riviera Buzz
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