0:00:07 > 0:00:11The Barber Of Seville is one of the greatest comedy operas of all time.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Rossini's masterpiece has become one of the best-loved operas in
0:00:21 > 0:00:25the repertoire, and is performed in opera houses all over the world.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Here at Glyndebourne we've staged a new production of Barber for
0:00:29 > 0:00:32the 200th anniversary of its 1816 premiere in Rome.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37My name is Danielle de Niese, and I'm a soprano.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I'm performing the role of the opera's heroine, Rosina.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51So how do you turn a musical score into
0:00:51 > 0:00:54a fully-fledged operatic performance?
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I'm going to take you behind the scenes to give you
0:00:58 > 0:01:03a warts and all look at the process of building an opera from scratch.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05SHE RASPS
0:01:05 > 0:01:09You'll see ups and downs and highs and lows as I prepare
0:01:09 > 0:01:12my very first Rossini opera and my very first Rosina.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14SHE SINGS
0:01:14 > 0:01:16- You did it again. - Bloody hell!
0:01:16 > 0:01:20If you do that, you're sounding like you want to slow down.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23We'll explore Rossini's musical genius with the conductor.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25THEY SING
0:01:26 > 0:01:28- Sorry, it's...it's magic. - Yeah, it's magic.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30This is the genius of Rossini!
0:01:33 > 0:01:37For me, mastering Rossini's music is only the beginning.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41I'll show you how I create the role dramatically
0:01:41 > 0:01:43to really bring Rosina to life.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Finding the right look is essential -
0:01:46 > 0:01:48the hair and make-up.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51You know, you get, "I'm fine!" and the, like, grr!
0:01:51 > 0:01:52My costume...
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Shall we put it on? I think we should.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56You might have to look away now.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59And we'll look at how to bring out Barber's comedy
0:01:59 > 0:02:01with our director.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04High, high stakes of the comedy are that they are pushing their luck
0:02:04 > 0:02:08as far as they can push it.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Along the way, we'll discover how an opera is
0:02:10 > 0:02:12put together as a whole.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It's meshing the artistic intent
0:02:15 > 0:02:18with some brutally practical things.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24So let's have a look and see how it all happens.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Whoa-ho! We did it!
0:02:27 > 0:02:29APPLAUSE
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Each summer, Glyndebourne stages an opera season here in the
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Sussex countryside.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44If I do my job properly when I appear here,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46my performance will be effortless.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50But the preparation isn't.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Barber is nearly three hours long, and I need to be physically fit.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59I actually can't afford not to work out for this role
0:02:59 > 0:03:02because part of singing all of this
0:03:02 > 0:03:05requires a level of abdominal support,
0:03:05 > 0:03:10erm, that I need to keep in shape for.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12I have a ten-month-old baby,
0:03:12 > 0:03:17and I injured my abdominal cavity when I was pregnant.
0:03:17 > 0:03:23I, er, I really must dedicate time to staying on this treadmill...
0:03:24 > 0:03:28..and, er, studying - studying all my cadenzas.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Ideally, I would do a fast run,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35but last year I injured my ankles while rehearsing.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I find that I...
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I will do whatever it takes to...
0:03:43 > 0:03:45..be the show.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48In this film, I'll show you the challenges and satisfactions
0:03:48 > 0:03:51of creating a character on stage.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00My debut here at Glyndebourne was in 2005 as Cleopatra in
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Handel's opera, Giulio Cesare.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And I first met Gus Christie, who was,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09though I didn't know it then, my future husband.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Now we have a baby boy called Bacchus.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Shall we empty out all this sand?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16- Where are your feet going? - Let's bury your feet.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Let's bury your feet, there you go.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Gus is Glyndebourne's executive chairman,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and Glyndebourne has always been a family concern.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27I'm going to cover your foot up...!
0:04:27 > 0:04:31My grandfather, John Christie, married my grandmother,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Audrey Mildmay, in the 1930s, and built the opera house, er,
0:04:34 > 0:04:36in the back garden for her.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37She was an opera singer,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41she opened the first season in The Marriage Of Figaro,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45singing Susanna, a role which Dani has sung many times - not here.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46- Not here.- Erm, but, er...
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And that's how it all started back in the early '30s,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53and then my dad, George Christie, knocked down his father's theatre
0:04:53 > 0:04:59in the early '90s and rebuilt the current theatre, which seats 1,250.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03And it's now very much an international opera house.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Well, it always was, but it's even more so.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10So, really, we're continuing a Christie family tradition.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It's quite spooky, I mean, and the fact that we actually got
0:05:13 > 0:05:15married on the day that my grandmother was born...
0:05:15 > 0:05:17- We didn't know. - ..on the 19th December.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21They got married on the day that our son Bacchus was born.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23- So there's a lot of... - A strange...
0:05:23 > 0:05:26- ..strange coincidences. - The destiny of the dates is...
0:05:26 > 0:05:27It is quite spooky.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33When Glyndebourne Festival offered me the part of Rosina,
0:05:33 > 0:05:34I jumped at the chance.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41I had been singing her main aria since I was 12 years old,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and always dreamed of performing the whole role.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49My career has taken me to the other great opera houses abroad,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52but it's always special singing at home.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00There is quite a rigorous casting process here,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04and we sit together, all more or less are voice and opera experts,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09knowing the repertoire, looking at what's the right voice
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and what's the right type for a certain role.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Each time I take on a new role,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19it's like I'm jumping off a diving board into the deep end,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23so preparing for Rosina, I feel a little bit like this lovely
0:06:23 > 0:06:27sculpture here in the grounds of Glyndebourne, and it's a particular
0:06:27 > 0:06:32challenge to take on such a beloved role in such an immortal opera.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Rossini's piece is based on the first of three plays by
0:06:37 > 0:06:41the 18th century French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44They feature the adventures of a Mr Fix It, a barber called Figaro.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Mozart adapted the second play into his opera,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53The Marriage Of Figaro, featuring Count and Countess Almaviva.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Ours is a kind of prequel, showing how that couple first met.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05You can't not be in a good mood when you hear The Barber Of Seville.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06Sort of like when, er,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11you're working and it's wafting through the halls.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Everybody's in a good mood at Glyndebourne.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20This is where the magic happens.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24The auditorium here is a very intimate space,
0:07:24 > 0:07:25perfect for Rossini.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30There's the beauty of this music,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33so it's always full of energy, electricity.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34So, er, I am Italian,
0:07:34 > 0:07:39I have to eat spaghetti al dente, you know? When the...
0:07:39 > 0:07:44Inside the spaghetto is still a little bit hard,
0:07:44 > 0:07:45and you feel this.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49So, Rossini is exactly like this.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55My character Rosina is a wealthy young woman
0:07:55 > 0:07:57in 18th-century Spain.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Now, she is the ward of Dr Bartolo,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03an elderly man who plans to marry her.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Now, this is NOT an idea that Rosina likes!
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Rossini's story begins in the early hours
0:08:11 > 0:08:13of the morning, on a street in Seville.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Count Almaviva, a Spanish nobleman,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22comes to serenade Rosina.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32He had seen Rosina from afar
0:08:32 > 0:08:34and fallen in love.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37This is the first of numerous attempts to woo her.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Rossini is really establishing
0:08:41 > 0:08:43that this is very much a comedy,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46but it's a comedy that involves
0:08:46 > 0:08:49very real, deep emotions -
0:08:49 > 0:08:51love and the quest for love.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Rossini's punchline in the opening is that,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04after all of this romantic effort,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Rosina does not even appear on the balcony
0:09:06 > 0:09:08during the serenade.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21LAUGHTER
0:09:21 > 0:09:25APPLAUSE
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Almaviva overhears Figaro, the barber of Seville,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31boasting of his troubleshooting talents.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39The Count hires Figaro
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and they plot ways to bypass Dr Bartolo.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Rosina does emerge...eventually.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02She has a love note and the stage is set
0:10:02 > 0:10:04for the comedy to come.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07And speaking of stage and set,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10they are a vital part of an operatic production.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Something that is made of wood and canvas and the odd bit of steel
0:10:14 > 0:10:17can easily cost the same as
0:10:17 > 0:10:19a comfortable semidetached house somewhere.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22There is 100 people in the workshop, working on it.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Then, there is all the staff
0:10:24 > 0:10:26who work on the production here, as well.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Singers aren't around when our show sets are installed,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35so I came along to see the interior of Bartolo's house
0:10:35 > 0:10:36being put together.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Tom, so, what is going on
0:10:38 > 0:10:40here this morning on the stage?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Well, this is terrifying day number one, cos this is the first time
0:10:43 > 0:10:46since rehearsals started that the show
0:10:46 > 0:10:47is coming to the stage.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51So, we're madly fitting up now. The floor is going down.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53The walls will go in and we will be ready for you
0:10:53 > 0:10:55to rehearse this afternoon.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57SHE IMITATES CREAKING IN BACKGROUND
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Yeah, that's the sound of timber creaking.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Ours is just one of six production sets
0:11:02 > 0:11:04and it's a different opera every night.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It's a Meccano kit, because it has got to come apart,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11- you know...- Right. - ..twice in 24 hours. It's meshing
0:11:11 > 0:11:17the artistic intent with some brutally-practical things.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Our set was designed by Joanna Parker,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24working closely with director Annabel Arden.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26We decided we wouldn't worry too much
0:11:26 > 0:11:31about naturalism. That it's... There is an element of fantasy in it
0:11:31 > 0:11:32and, so, I suppose the overall tone
0:11:32 > 0:11:37of it is theatrical and it is highly colourful.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Every set needs to serve the drama and drive the story.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47Ours is circular, which I love,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50because it suggests Rosina has nowhere to hide.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53In a sense, she is a prisoner.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57So, you have a wall that's permeated by light, in these openings.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00There isn't an outside.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05But now, the mysterious serenader
0:12:05 > 0:12:07offers a chance of freedom and love.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12The Count has told Rosina that he is a poor student, called Lindoro.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14He wants her to love HIM, not his money.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Ah! Rosina is smitten
0:12:18 > 0:12:20and this leads to her first aria,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22one of the greatest in the repertoire,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Una Voce Poco Fa.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Here, Rosina shares her inner thoughts and emotions
0:12:38 > 0:12:40directly with the audience.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Arias are like Shakespearean soliloquies, set to music.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00And, traditionally, where we singers display our vocal range
0:13:00 > 0:13:01and technique.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Rosina can be a challenge for a soprano, like me.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Rossini wrote this part for a mezzo-soprano -
0:13:17 > 0:13:18a lower voice.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26And, so, my focus with preparing
0:13:26 > 0:13:29this aria is to ensure that I can
0:13:29 > 0:13:31sing with a beautiful healthy sound
0:13:31 > 0:13:34some of these middle and low notes,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36but not to put too much weight
0:13:36 > 0:13:39or chest voice into the sound,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41because it will affect my ability
0:13:41 > 0:13:44to negotiate the very top parts of my register of my voice.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56We build, with Danni,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00each single breath.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01In this way...
0:14:02 > 0:14:05..Danni knows when I will give my upbeat.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08That, in the language of the conductors,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12the upbeat is the breath of the singers.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15And I know exactly when Danni is going to breathe.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Rossini's music is famous for its "coloratura" -
0:14:24 > 0:14:26elaborate melodies, with endless runs,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28trills and vocal leaps.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Rossini's genius
0:14:40 > 0:14:44was that he composed coloratura not just to dazzle the audience
0:14:44 > 0:14:45with vocal displays.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56He used it dramatically, as well,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00here, helping express Rosina's determination to escape.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03But it's not easy to sing, though.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06You have difficult coloratura
0:15:06 > 0:15:09and then you have absolutely-infernal coloratura.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12There is an example even in the first three pages,
0:15:12 > 0:15:13where she says...
0:15:13 > 0:15:15# Dolce amore
0:15:15 > 0:15:17# Ro-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-sa. #
0:15:17 > 0:15:20This is nine notes. It's always sung like this.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23There is a grace note in here, as well,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27so that means Rossini actually wanted to hear ten notes.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29# Da-da, da-da Da-da-da-da, da-dum. #
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Enrique, our maestro, has said to me...
0:15:33 > 0:15:35"Don't do it!"
0:15:35 > 0:15:38However, I DID say to him...
0:15:38 > 0:15:41"Yeah, but wouldn't it be cool if we COULD do it?"!
0:15:43 > 0:15:44And we did.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51We trust each other.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Danni knows that I am watching her...
0:15:56 > 0:15:58..I am watching her preparing the breath.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01I will never be too early,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03I will never be too late,
0:16:03 > 0:16:04but I know...
0:16:06 > 0:16:08..that even if Danni is watching the public,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11there is this corner of the eye
0:16:11 > 0:16:14watching...the upper bit
0:16:14 > 0:16:16of my white baton.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18And...
0:16:19 > 0:16:22..this is something unique and wonderful.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Traditionally, arias in Italian operas end with cadenzas -
0:16:31 > 0:16:33improvised displays of vocal fireworks,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35where we can show off.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I had this idea to
0:16:37 > 0:16:42make a cadenza that, sort of, pays homage to the cadenzas of old.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46In my final loving chero, I will win him.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48I want to, sort of, take off.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49I want to sprout wings and fly.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53And, suddenly, come out of it, at a certain point,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57SHE SINGS
0:17:13 > 0:17:14I was hearing
0:17:14 > 0:17:16all sorts of new colours
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and a seamless connection to the higher voice,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21which I knew very well,
0:17:21 > 0:17:23in a way that, I think,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25really opens up
0:17:25 > 0:17:27a lot of possibilities for her.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30During the run,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34I came to Rome, to talk with another diva about her experience
0:17:34 > 0:17:36of portraying Rosina.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38It's a challenge achieving a believable balance
0:17:38 > 0:17:42between Rosina's sweetness and determination.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46She wants to be strong, but is still so young and naive.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51I wondered how Alberta Valentini, the Italian soprano
0:17:51 > 0:17:55who performed Rosina at Glyndebourne in 1961,
0:17:55 > 0:17:56had handled her.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03TRANSLATION:
0:18:05 > 0:18:06Mm.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25SINGING:
0:18:38 > 0:18:39SINGING:
0:18:45 > 0:18:48SINGING:
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Some think that this calculating viper
0:18:56 > 0:18:58is not a believable young woman.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Rossini's first biographer, Stendhal, didn't.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05But I wonder if Rosina is just talking big,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07like teenage girls do,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10about things she hasn't really experienced yet.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Here we are, talking about having very similar...
0:19:22 > 0:19:25similar processed feelings about this Rosina,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28who, you know, says that she can be a viper,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32but isn't necessarily such a viper.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34But she would defend herself, if she had to,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36and this is what is so marvellous about her.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46Let's not forget, she's Spanish!
0:19:48 > 0:19:51It was here, in Rome, that Gioachino Rossini
0:19:51 > 0:19:56composed Barbiere, between late 1815 and early 1816.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59The maestro was just 23 and, already,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01a superstar across Europe.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Some critics sniffed that he was a noise-monger,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07but audiences loved his work.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10We're here in the centre of Rome
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and, just above me, you can see a plaque, that reads,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17"Living in this house, Gioachino Rossini found eternally
0:20:17 > 0:20:20"new harmonies in The Barber Of Seville."
0:20:20 > 0:20:22It's beautifully poetic and very Italian.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Rossini had a furious working pace.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Over his composing career, he wrote an average of two operas a year.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Some years, he penned four.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39This may be why the librettist Cesare Sterbini
0:20:39 > 0:20:41is reported to have been reluctant to sign up.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Legend has it that Rossini wrote his entire masterpiece
0:20:46 > 0:20:50in just three weeks. Some say the maestro and Sterbini
0:20:50 > 0:20:53worked together here, sleeping on a sofa when they could no longer
0:20:53 > 0:20:56stay awake, and eating only when necessary.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00But it was worth it. Beethoven told Rossini
0:21:00 > 0:21:03in 1822,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06"Barbiere will be played as long as Italian opera exists."
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Before I start singing a role, I always immerse myself in the text.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25I'm very curious about
0:21:25 > 0:21:26the rest between...
0:21:26 > 0:21:30SHE READS THE LYRICS IN ITALIAN
0:21:30 > 0:21:34The fact that there's a rest there tells me that, maybe,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38she's fishing her way through the phrase.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Maybe she thought, "Oh, these are just the words to the song...
0:21:43 > 0:21:44"..from The Useless Precaution."
0:21:53 > 0:21:57So, she's coming up with it on the spot.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00And, so, this is how one builds an interpretation.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03So, I was very excited that our conductor,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Enrique Mazzola, planned to perform Barber as Rossini intended...
0:22:08 > 0:22:12..especially for what's known in Italian as the "recitativo",
0:22:12 > 0:22:16where dialogue is sung in a conversational style.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Rossini wanted his recitativo to follow the rhythms
0:22:27 > 0:22:28of natural speech.
0:22:34 > 0:22:35But, over the centuries,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38various traditions have become accepted that changed
0:22:38 > 0:22:40the overall delivery.
0:22:40 > 0:22:41Every famous singer
0:22:41 > 0:22:43of the past puts something new.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Sometimes, it is just the...
0:22:45 > 0:22:47singer...
0:22:47 > 0:22:49singer's ego.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54"I can do a very high and nice
0:22:54 > 0:22:57"beautiful note", like a high C.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59'Our Figaro, the German baritone,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03'Bjorn Burger, and I have come in to lightly rehearse and review
0:23:03 > 0:23:05'the maestro's back-to-basics approach.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12'We will look at the famous scene, where Figaro intrigues Rosina
0:23:12 > 0:23:13'with information about her suitor.'
0:23:35 > 0:23:36If I sang...
0:23:36 > 0:23:39SINGING:
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- Yeah, yeah.- This would be sung.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- Yeah.- This would be to sung
0:23:46 > 0:23:48for a restive soul. The sounds of the voice
0:23:48 > 0:23:52is less important than where the word sits,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55so the difference of that is like...
0:23:55 > 0:23:58SHE SINGS
0:23:59 > 0:24:03- No, we have reached the rhythm of the...- Yeah.- ..of the spoken...
0:24:20 > 0:24:22I like very much this moment when you say "my bella".
0:24:22 > 0:24:24I still struggle with it.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26I have to say, "Ma... Ma, a bella?"
0:24:26 > 0:24:32But when I am singing it, I can't always get the exact same...
0:24:33 > 0:24:37- Argh! It really annoys me! - But you have to go "in normal life".
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Ah! # A bella? #
0:24:39 > 0:24:40Ja, ja, ja.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Do it normal, like this.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54You see, it is magic.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59'This sparkling scene ends with a well-known duet.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01'Well, two arias sung at the same time, really,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05'and Rossini's rules for arias are different from the recitativo.'
0:25:05 > 0:25:07And then, the duet starts.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09And then, the fear begins!
0:25:09 > 0:25:11ALL LAUGH
0:25:11 > 0:25:12I hate this bit!
0:25:12 > 0:25:14It is my, literally, most feared phrase.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Thank you, BBC, for filming this bit(!)
0:25:18 > 0:25:20SINGING:
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Bravo. A very good example of the difference
0:25:46 > 0:25:50between recitativo and the sung part
0:25:50 > 0:25:52- with the orchestra. - Yes.- In this moment...
0:25:52 > 0:25:54STACCATO SPEECH
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The rhythm goes exactly with the rhythm.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59It doesn't go in the rhythm of the words.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01When the orchestra is playing -
0:26:01 > 0:26:04may you play the bass C? - the left hand of the orchestra.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06PIANIST STARTS PLAYING
0:26:06 > 0:26:08You see how it fits?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11It fits. So, exactly, this is the tempo.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16'Enrique wants the arias to end with a bang, just as Rossini liked.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:20You know what I have always in mind? You know those American movies
0:26:20 > 0:26:24with a car... going out from a building
0:26:24 > 0:26:29- and crashing in a big window, a glass window?- Yes!- Big crash.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32So, I think the final of this aria should be like this.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Yeeeeew - crash!
0:26:34 > 0:26:35So, let's go again.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58This is Rossini.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- This is the genius of Rossini.- Yep.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Before I sing a performance, I need to warm up my voice.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Be advised...
0:27:08 > 0:27:11this is not the most glamorous part of my job.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I am taking the approach that,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17in order to, like, truly lift the lid on a process,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19you need the good, the bad and the ugly.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21So, erm, this is the ugly.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24MOUTH MUSIC
0:27:29 > 0:27:32When you're working with an instrument that is variable,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35like a human voice, which can be, like me today,
0:27:35 > 0:27:36a little bit gunky,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39it means that you do have to use
0:27:39 > 0:27:44your training, to assess what you might need more of,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48in terms of the exercises. It's exactly like being
0:27:48 > 0:27:51a sports athlete. If you are feeling a little bit tight
0:27:51 > 0:27:53in your hamstrings, you do more hamstring stretches.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55We can do the same thing with our voices.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58So, what I am going to do is I am going to do these straw exercises,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01which are going to, essentially, do like this to my vocal cords.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05They are just going to stretch and tone them and it will start to
0:28:05 > 0:28:06clean off the gunk.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10SHE HUMS SCALES
0:28:22 > 0:28:25I put headphones on, so I don't have to listen to myself.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29It's so easy to...judge yourself.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34So, in my case, I just put my little iPod or phone on to "shuffle".
0:28:34 > 0:28:36OK, I have got a bit of Sting.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41SHE HUMS ALONG TO MUSIC
0:28:47 > 0:28:50I do this other very ugly exercise.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54It is...putting a pen
0:28:54 > 0:28:56inside your mouth...
0:28:58 > 0:29:02..and singing without letting the pen drop out.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04We'll do this.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10HUMMING
0:29:13 > 0:29:16SINGING
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Now, putting the pen in my mouth means my jaw is immobilised
0:29:24 > 0:29:26from getting in the way.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30So, that is why it's an ugly thing to do, but has a big pay-off
0:29:30 > 0:29:33if you...coordinate your air, as a result.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36So, Renata Tebaldi
0:29:36 > 0:29:39was, apparently, like, absolutely effortless, when she sang.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43Erm...I suppose that's the benchmark there,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46but, you know...we'll try!
0:29:50 > 0:29:51Opera is not just about music.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Glyndebourne was one of the first venues to emphasis the importance
0:29:57 > 0:29:59of acting.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Opera is about telling stories.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06In order to bring the story across, we need very good actors.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08And Danni being one perfect example.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10When I was a little girl,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13just starting out, my mother taught me that there is
0:30:13 > 0:30:16a crucial distinction between singing and performing.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18It's not just my lines that matter,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21but how Rosina interacts with and responds to
0:30:21 > 0:30:23the various men in her life.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27So, I have been working on different body language and movement,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30to reflect these very different relationships.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36I think Rosina loves Figaro, as well as the Count -
0:30:36 > 0:30:38just in a different way.
0:30:38 > 0:30:39She trusts Figaro
0:30:39 > 0:30:41and can be very playful with him.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48So, when Bjorn and I are on stage together, we interact very freely
0:30:48 > 0:30:49with one another.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59APPLAUSE
0:31:00 > 0:31:03And, of course, the way Rosina relates to Bartolo,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07whom she despises, is rather different.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12Bartolo is Rosina's legal guardian, so she has to be respectful.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19But I make my body language rigid and tense.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21I pull up my ribcage a little higher.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24My legs are stiff with frustration.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28It is my way of showing that,
0:31:28 > 0:31:29while Rosina may be doing
0:31:29 > 0:31:31her "dovere" - her duty -
0:31:31 > 0:31:33she really doesn't like it.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36There is something very feline about Danni.
0:31:36 > 0:31:42Danni has an enormous facility to be able to sing and move and play at,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45all at once. And that makes her very exciting and enormous fun
0:31:45 > 0:31:46to play with.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Hopefully, all these tiny details will make my Rosina
0:31:49 > 0:31:52very believable as a complex young lady
0:31:52 > 0:31:55and a well-rounded character.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Rosina is incredibly attracted
0:31:58 > 0:31:59to Count Almaviva,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02but he's a stranger, really.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05So when he embarks on Figaro's next plan and enters the house
0:32:05 > 0:32:11disguised as a drunk soldier, Rosina's excited but also nervous.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18I can express this physically,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21tilting my chin slightly forward in an amorous way,
0:32:21 > 0:32:25but pulling my body back a little to suggest uncertainty.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29If you can't engage your body from head to toe in that same way
0:32:29 > 0:32:34for a character, it can be a very, very beautifully sung performance
0:32:34 > 0:32:37and something is missing.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39It's a little bit like those wind-up ballet dolls
0:32:39 > 0:32:42and a little ballerina, they're turning, and it's amazing,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45it's beautiful, it's crystalline, it's perfect,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48but it's...lifeless.
0:32:49 > 0:32:55And for me, if you can marry to a wonderful vocal performance
0:32:55 > 0:32:59a stunning physical performance, then you have theatrical magic.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08The details of our characters' appearance are a crucial part
0:33:08 > 0:33:10of expressing their complexities.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Perfecting Rosina's hair and make-up has been a key part
0:33:13 > 0:33:15of the process for me.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19So here we are, I'm with Sarah Piper, our head of make-up,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22and Sheila Slaymaker, our head of wigs and hair
0:33:22 > 0:33:27and we're starting to get ready to create Rosina.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30The process has been entirely collaborative.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Annabel has directed me to really come with
0:33:33 > 0:33:36a very fresh innocence at the beginning
0:33:36 > 0:33:40and so then that will really affect our decision-making together,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42what colours we're going to go for.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46It's got a nice luminosity to it, that base,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49hasn't it? It has got a sort of luminous...
0:33:49 > 0:33:50It's nice.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53The general feeling of Rosina,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57she's young and effervescent and ebullient and alive.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01And she's very present and her eyes, you know, speak volumes
0:34:01 > 0:34:03and that's what we wanted from Rosina
0:34:03 > 0:34:05and I'm really lucky I've got people who can go,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07"OK, we'll get her eyes to pop like that."
0:34:12 > 0:34:13Pink.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17I think any girl who wears lipstick would be able to say that
0:34:17 > 0:34:23even for going out to a party, you would know when you hit the jackpot
0:34:23 > 0:34:25with your lipstick colour and the same happens with characters here.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27And when I got this colour on, I'm like...
0:34:27 > 0:34:29SHE GASPS I'm looking out the window,
0:34:29 > 0:34:31I'm hopeful, I'm happy.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34It's great! I love it.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Another big decision was which wig I should wear.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Now, this may sound frivolous, but it has a huge impact on how
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Rosina fits in with the overall concept of the opera.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49You know, this also takes place in Spain
0:34:49 > 0:34:52and so we needed this kind of...
0:34:52 > 0:34:57caliente, we needed this sort of dark, smouldering...
0:34:57 > 0:34:59young, but smouldering.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03It's a very tough balance. I mean, I feel like we've achieved that.
0:35:03 > 0:35:09We were trying to also fulfil Joanna's desires with your character
0:35:09 > 0:35:13and Annabel's input to have something
0:35:13 > 0:35:16just a bit different and now.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Annabel decided against our other wig option.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23It was wonderful, but maybe a little bit too much.
0:35:23 > 0:35:24- OK.- Here she comes.
0:35:27 > 0:35:28God!
0:35:28 > 0:35:32Isn't that so amazing?
0:35:34 > 0:35:37- It's so different, isn't it? - It's so different.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41This has youth and it has rebellion in it,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44which I think is an important quality of Rosina.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46And of course, I had, like, off the shoulders,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48so that's what it would have looked like.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51- You know, you get...- The fun. - ..the fun and, like, grrrr!
0:35:51 > 0:35:54You get all that. But I was really nervous that,
0:35:54 > 0:35:59like, this quality of, like, just looking to the face,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02looking right into the soul might not be there.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08But I think we've kept a bit of that grrr in Rosina's character.
0:36:09 > 0:36:10We had a lot of fun with that one.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14That's one of those things that was discarded, but it's still there
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and I think both her and I are sort of,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19still thinking about it.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20Erm...
0:36:20 > 0:36:22So, yeah.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24Yeah.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Maybe she'll go out in it one night.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28And we can go dancing.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36The same amount of thought and care went into preparing our costumes.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Joanna and Annabel spent months perfecting them.
0:36:41 > 0:36:47We trawled the streets of London for fabrics and we went into shops
0:36:47 > 0:36:51and we'd be, like, "Does this work with this?"
0:36:51 > 0:36:54You know, swatch after swatch after swatch after swatch.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Glyndebourne is quite unusual because all of our costumes
0:36:57 > 0:36:59are made here on site.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03And we'd meet the cutters and I've got 15 fabrics
0:37:03 > 0:37:05working in these layers.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08This is one of my favourite parts of the production process.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11I was always the kid at school in the dress-up box.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15This is my act one costume.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Di and I know this quite well now.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19We've been practising getting into it.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24And it is an amazing piece of art, really, when you look closely
0:37:24 > 0:37:27at all of the applique.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31What it makes come alive for the character of Rosina
0:37:31 > 0:37:34is this flirtatious playfulness, her youth.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36Shall we put it on?
0:37:36 > 0:37:39I think we should. You might have to look away now.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42It's essential that my costume allows me
0:37:42 > 0:37:45to move and breathe easily on the stage.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49We don't sing from the neck up, we sing with our diaphragm
0:37:49 > 0:37:51and our support in our abdominal cavities here,
0:37:51 > 0:37:55and when you're wearing a corset, you basically have something to...
0:37:55 > 0:37:56..push against.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Although, Di - my wonderful dresser - knows that there's two
0:38:00 > 0:38:02little hooks in the back of my costume which I always ask her
0:38:02 > 0:38:07to release around my upper ribcage, just to allow me to breathe.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Two layers, so it's quite difficult
0:38:10 > 0:38:13when she's warming up at the same time
0:38:13 > 0:38:15to get her into it.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20It's in these fittings that my character becomes complete.
0:38:20 > 0:38:27There is a vulnerability to this costume that really appeals
0:38:27 > 0:38:30to my senses of who I think Rosina is.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33I really wanted to capture this somehow,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36so the moment when I put this costume on, I thought,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38"Now I have a thread from the inside of my soul
0:38:38 > 0:38:41"to the outside of the skin of the character.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43"I have the vulnerability that I'm looking for."
0:38:45 > 0:38:50You're hoping that she's felt what it's like and she is somebody
0:38:50 > 0:38:53who does... She's very sensual in that sense,
0:38:53 > 0:38:58so I think the memory of something, she inhabits.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59Shoes, oh, my God!
0:38:59 > 0:39:00So...
0:39:00 > 0:39:02I love shoes.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Shoes, for me, are something I'm willing to suffer for.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08I'm now going to put on the shoe for you that...
0:39:10 > 0:39:12..we chose in the end.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Which is actually a dance shoe.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Let me see if I can balance my way into that, Di.
0:39:20 > 0:39:21They have that...
0:39:21 > 0:39:23They've got that sass.
0:39:23 > 0:39:29They've got that little bit of spitfire character in her that shows
0:39:29 > 0:39:30that Rosina is somebody who,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32like, who could break out into dance at any moment.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36She could be ready with a quick retort.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40This is what I love about Rosina, so we settled on these shoes.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46To fully realise all the nuances of our characters' movements
0:39:46 > 0:39:50and appearance onstage, the lighting has to be perfect.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54So the lighting designer will have come in with an idea
0:39:54 > 0:39:56of how they want the production to look.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Because we run our festival
0:39:58 > 0:40:02with performances practically every night of different operas,
0:40:02 > 0:40:04we will try to light over the rehearsal
0:40:04 > 0:40:06that the singers are having onstage.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10We'll then try to schedule some sessions which are just dedicated
0:40:10 > 0:40:14to lighting so that the lighting designer is happy with the levels.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19When all of these elements work in harmony onstage,
0:40:19 > 0:40:24musically and dramatically, the result in Rossini are spectacular.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Especially at the end of act one where the Count,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29in drunken soldier disguise,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33comes to blows with Bartolo and the police arrive.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35KNOCKING
0:40:35 > 0:40:39It will all lead to a wonderful scene of ensemble singing.
0:40:47 > 0:40:53And suddenly, the chorus, the principles, all the soloists,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56they start to sing something crazy.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Rossini was a master at composing ensembles,
0:41:11 > 0:41:16weaving together multiple voices to marvellous musical effect.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19To sing them is incredibly rewarding
0:41:19 > 0:41:20and totally terrifying.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Often, were all singing different lines but at the same time.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31# Si, signor, si, signor Si, signor, si, signor! #
0:41:34 > 0:41:38This is a typical Rossinian solution.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40This...
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Also, I would say, very Italian.
0:41:42 > 0:41:48This way to show that we are crazy, that we don't understand,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50that we are confused, we are lost.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Rossini's music builds and builds through multiple crescendos,
0:42:01 > 0:42:06each one reaching new levels of impossibly fast chaos and confusion.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I think you have to embrace the fact that it is mad
0:42:18 > 0:42:21and it builds and builds and gets madder and madder.
0:42:26 > 0:42:27But it is an enormous challenge.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31It's like a tapestry or a Persian carpet or a kaleidoscope.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43By the end, all of our characters are reduced to insanity,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45as the libretto says.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49It is a musical masterpiece though, and really great fun to perform.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Argh!
0:43:05 > 0:43:08And, of course, Rossini loved to leave cliffhangers
0:43:08 > 0:43:10at the end of act one.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14After all, you don't want people going home during the interval.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22My first-night performance of Rosina was pretty nerve-racking.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24And after the madness of the act one finale,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27it's strange being in my dressing room alone.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Especially as Glyndebourne traditionally
0:43:29 > 0:43:33has a long 90-minute interval for the audience to dine and picnic in.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37The challenge for me is to keep focused
0:43:37 > 0:43:39on my character and performance.
0:43:42 > 0:43:48OK, so, it's the middle of the opening of Il Barbiere Di Siviglia
0:43:48 > 0:43:51and, how am I feeling? Erm...
0:43:52 > 0:43:55I'm feeling really good. I...
0:43:55 > 0:43:58I'm still really, really nervous, actually, but...
0:43:58 > 0:44:03I also was so excited to get here.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05And fear is a very big part of singing, I think,
0:44:05 > 0:44:10but...so is faith and that's what I'm focusing on today.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16Now I'm going to shut up so that I can get ready for the second act.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Our first show made me wonder about Rossini's own premiere.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32It happened in Rome, so while I was there,
0:44:32 > 0:44:36I visited the venue to get a flavour of that historic first night.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42So, behind me is the Teatro Argentina
0:44:42 > 0:44:45where The Barber Of Seville had its first public performance
0:44:45 > 0:44:48on the 20th February 1816.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51I'm so excited. I've never been to Rossini's theatre before.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53Let's go and have a look inside.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58OK, here we are.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03SHE GASPS
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Wow! This is incredible.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16To think that Rossini was just right there, playing, conducting,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18I'm, er...
0:45:20 > 0:45:22It's hard to bring yourself back in history
0:45:22 > 0:45:26until you have a moment like this when you can just walk here,
0:45:26 > 0:45:31be here, breathe the air, spend time on the floorboards.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34I'm trying to imagine what it would feel like on a premiere
0:45:34 > 0:45:42to walk in Rosina for the first time and sing those first few notes.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45I sort of can't resist. I think I'm going to try a little something.
0:45:45 > 0:45:50SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:45:52 > 0:45:54Quite a good acoustic! I love it!
0:45:54 > 0:45:57SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Bellissimo! It's really so fabulous to sing in.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09So, surely the premiere was a magnificent triumph, right?
0:46:09 > 0:46:14Rossini expert Daniele Carnini told me all about it.
0:46:14 > 0:46:15How did it go?
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Well, the premiere was not a success.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22It was a disaster, frankly.
0:46:22 > 0:46:29There was someone who was against Rossini...
0:46:29 > 0:46:31Groups of people who are more or less,
0:46:31 > 0:46:35are they paid to applaud for one person or boo somebody else?
0:46:35 > 0:46:36Yes, probably.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39They were paid, but we are not sure about that
0:46:39 > 0:46:42and, as Rossini told to his mother,
0:46:42 > 0:46:47there was an enormous whispering
0:46:47 > 0:46:51throughout the premiere so the music was barely understood.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53That must have been quite distracting
0:46:53 > 0:46:55for both the singers and for Rossini.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59Yes, in this case, it was really impossible, as Rossini said,
0:46:59 > 0:47:03to understand...la note, no?
0:47:03 > 0:47:05- Yes, the notes.- Yeah, exactly.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08There had been a previous opera adaptation
0:47:08 > 0:47:11of The Barber Of Seville by Giovanni Paisiello.
0:47:11 > 0:47:16It's said that his supporters were not happy about Rossini's version.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18So, did anyone clap?
0:47:18 > 0:47:22No. No, no applause. No applause.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26- That sounds awful! - Except in Rossini himself.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30At the end of the first act, he applauded his singers to say,
0:47:30 > 0:47:33- "OK, it has been..." - To give them courage.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36- "This has been a difficult first act, but..."- We need it!
0:47:36 > 0:47:39And the public boo! One of the most...
0:47:41 > 0:47:44The greatest disaster of Rossini's career.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48But Rossini maybe didn't attend the second performance.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52He called himself off,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55"I'm ill so I'm staying home."
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Rossini was worrying too much.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00The rest of his run was a storming success.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Rossini wrote to his mother that the audience
0:48:04 > 0:48:07"cheered this work of mine with an enthusiasm
0:48:07 > 0:48:10"for which I came out five, six times
0:48:10 > 0:48:13"to receive applause of a totally new kind
0:48:13 > 0:48:16"and that made me cry with pleasure."
0:48:16 > 0:48:19I loved that letter Rossini wrote to his mum.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23These immortal composers are made of flesh and blood,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25just like the rest of us.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27The maestro's emotional rollercoaster
0:48:27 > 0:48:30during the premiere makes me feel closer to him.
0:48:33 > 0:48:38And so we move on to act two of Rossini's musical masterpiece.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39APPLAUSE
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Poor Bartolo isn't rid of Rosina's suitor just yet.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43KNOCKING AT DOOR
0:48:46 > 0:48:49You have to give credit to Count Almaviva -
0:48:49 > 0:48:51he's pretty determined.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54He dons yet another disguise and, in religious robes,
0:48:54 > 0:48:58charms his way inside by pretending to be a music teacher.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02The singing lesson scene that follows
0:49:02 > 0:49:05is perhaps the most famous and funniest scene in the opera.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08It's also one of the hardest to get right.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Operatic comedy is very difficult to do
0:49:15 > 0:49:19and it's much easier doing tragedy, in my opinion.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21The thing about comedy is it's about timing.
0:49:21 > 0:49:27You have to be so at one with the music
0:49:27 > 0:49:29that you can play the comedy on top.
0:49:32 > 0:49:33LAUGHTER
0:49:35 > 0:49:39You need to be really free just to flick your eyes at your partner
0:49:39 > 0:49:40and keep it alive.
0:49:40 > 0:49:45'We were still perfecting this scene, even after opening night.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48'Today, we've arranged a session with our Bartolo,
0:49:48 > 0:49:50'Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54'and American tenor Taylor Stayton, who plays Almaviva.'
0:49:54 > 0:49:59Taylor's objective is he wants to touch Danni and she wants it, too,
0:49:59 > 0:50:01but she doesn't want Bartolo to see.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03OK, so that's the scene.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30'The comedy here depends entirely on the dramatic tension
0:50:30 > 0:50:34'so we have to resist playing this scene solely for laughs.'
0:50:34 > 0:50:40Part of the trap of this particular scene is that it can descend
0:50:40 > 0:50:44into kind of a comedic thing, whereas we need to keep the tension.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45You're right, Danni.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48It mustn't descend into a cheap comedic thing,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51but the high, high stakes of the comedy
0:50:51 > 0:50:53are that they are pushing their luck
0:50:53 > 0:50:55as far as they can push it.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20HE SNORES
0:51:29 > 0:51:32What I was thinking about, actually,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Fawlty Towers and you know that you're going to spend
0:51:35 > 0:51:37half an hour laughing your head off,
0:51:37 > 0:51:41but if you actually look at all the actors, they're not laughing at all.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44They're sweating, they're freaking out,
0:51:44 > 0:51:46they're trying to remain calm,
0:51:46 > 0:51:50they're trying to get through a situation.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Yeah, we finally are here, he's asleep and I think, well,
0:52:03 > 0:52:08in the end, the kiss happens because we forget all about him being there.
0:52:08 > 0:52:09- That's true.- Wasn't I here?
0:52:12 > 0:52:16'Balancing the tension and the timing is key to judging
0:52:16 > 0:52:19'when the lovers should finally touch.'
0:52:19 > 0:52:21When you're really on a stage, this works better
0:52:21 > 0:52:24cos this, funnily enough, kills everything.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27- It has some sort of finality about it.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29"Here we are, we did it."
0:52:46 > 0:52:49It has to be real between you. The emotions have to be real.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51I do believe that kiss.
0:52:51 > 0:52:57Rosina's act two costume reflects this change in her character.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00Act two, for me, is when Rosina comes into her own.
0:53:00 > 0:53:06She lets all of this sort of voluptuous, sensual energy out
0:53:06 > 0:53:09and we know she's going to try to break free,
0:53:09 > 0:53:15but the colours of this breaking free
0:53:15 > 0:53:17are quite deep and quite rich
0:53:17 > 0:53:20and they have purples and burgundies to them
0:53:20 > 0:53:23and they have a bit of sort of blood in them.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25There's a bit of sort of sweat and blood and tears
0:53:25 > 0:53:27that come out in this as well.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Even the petticoat is black.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Alas, there are more obstacles for these lovers to overcome.
0:53:35 > 0:53:42Bartolo lies to Rosina so she thinks Lindoro has betrayed her.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47Recently, Maestro Mazzola was told about another aria for Rosina
0:53:47 > 0:53:50that Rossini wrote for this part of the opera.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Rossini composed it for a soprano voice
0:53:52 > 0:53:54three years after the premiere.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16I immediately thought, "Danni."
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Glyndebourne, we have a soprano.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26It's like Rossini writing something new for Danni.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30SHE SINGS AN ARIA
0:54:32 > 0:54:36'I worked hard to perfect this piece with my voice teacher.'
0:54:36 > 0:54:38- What's that?- Better.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41I got the B.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43HE SINGS AN ARIA
0:54:43 > 0:54:45Like, if you were on that B,
0:54:45 > 0:54:48you should be able to be in the same space as the G.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50'Composers often added arias for favourite performers
0:54:50 > 0:54:53'or ones who demanded a bigger role.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56'Rossini added his for this lady, Josephine Fodor-Mainvielle,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59'but it's rarely performed.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03You know, often when you add an extra aria to an opera,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07even one that's written by the composer, that's usually...
0:55:07 > 0:55:12You kind of think, "Oh, is this going to slow down the dramaturgy?
0:55:12 > 0:55:15"Are people going to be checking their watches or whatever?"
0:55:15 > 0:55:18HE SINGS A HIGH NOTE
0:55:18 > 0:55:20'Following the great Rossinian tradition,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22'Maestro Mazzola and I wrote some vocal variations
0:55:22 > 0:55:25'for the aria rather late one evening.'
0:55:25 > 0:55:28SHE SINGS AN ARIA
0:55:32 > 0:55:37Do you know, it was all dark, there was only this light, the piano,
0:55:37 > 0:55:43the blank paper, a pencil and two crazy people...
0:55:43 > 0:55:48- HE MIMICS THE SINGING OF ARIAS - ..doing like this.
0:55:48 > 0:55:53It was funny at the moment and when I think of this moment,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56I found it magical, because...
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Because this is Rossini.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02200 years ago...
0:56:04 > 0:56:10..the Rosina of the time and Rossini were doing exactly the same thing.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16Rosina reveals her vulnerability.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19She longs for Lindoro to be innocent.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34And that's something that adds tremendous dimension
0:56:34 > 0:56:40to her character, but also tremendous ballast to the drama...
0:56:44 > 0:56:49..and prepares for the denouement, the happy denouement.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55After Rosina rejects him,
0:56:55 > 0:57:00Lindoro finally reveals that he's been Count Almaviva all along.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02The lovers are reconciled.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07LAUGHTER
0:57:08 > 0:57:11So, in this opera, I don't have to tragically die
0:57:11 > 0:57:16of a wasting disease or hurl myself off a tall tower.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18Everything turns out OK in the end.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22Rosina is happily married and true love wins the day.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26After all, it's The Barber Of Seville. It's a comedy!
0:57:38 > 0:57:43I'm always happy when we finish The Barber
0:57:43 > 0:57:48and Rossini gives this message - "Enjoy. Enjoy the opera.
0:57:48 > 0:57:53"Laugh with the person you're sitting with
0:57:53 > 0:57:57"and go home with a lighter heart and a big smile,"
0:57:59 > 0:58:00and this is very important.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03I would say today, 2016, we need this.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06APPLAUSE We did it! Did you see it?
0:58:11 > 0:58:15'As a performer, it's really touching to receive an ovation.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19'It means the audience have been moved by what we've done.
0:58:20 > 0:58:26'After months of hard work, this is the icing on the cake for everyone.'
0:58:33 > 0:58:35Performing is exhausting, of course,
0:58:35 > 0:58:39but I'm also completely exhilarated at the end of a performance.
0:58:39 > 0:58:42I'm delighted to have brought this character to life.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45Viva Rosina and viva Rossini!