A Night To Remember

The Royal Opera House’s latest production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia could hardly have been more anticipated. The first revival of Caurier and Leiser’s celebrated staging, it was planned to combine the all-star cast of Simon Keenlyside, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Alessandro Corbelli and Ferruccio Furlanetto, with Antonio Pappano here conducting Rossini’s comic opera for the first time. As part of the run, an HD broadcast and recording was expected to take place, which would allow millions across the globe to enjoy this unique meeting of talents. Problems started to emerge even before rehearsals began, when Keenlyside was forced to withdraw due to exhaustion. Disaster then nearly struck during the opening night, as DiDonato slipped during the first act and bravely chose to continue throughout the rest of the opera on crutches (an…