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Discovered treasure: Opera Southwest takes on rare performance of 'Matilde'
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Opera Southwest is launching its 52nd season with a relatively unknown piece by an equally unknown composer.
Carlo Coccia鈥檚 鈥淢atilde鈥� will open on Friday, Sept. 13, at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum Amphitheater. The show will continue on Saturday, Sept. 14, and Sunday, Sept. 15.
Discovered treasure: Opera Southwest takes on rare performance of 'Matilde'
Five apprentice singers will perform the opera: Joshua Hughes, Alexandra Wiebe, Wil Kellerman, Eric Botto and Kim Stanish. Selected through competitive national auditions, the young artists gain a rare opportunity to perform on stage in a fully-produced opera with a live orchestra.
It all started during the pandemic, when artistic director and conductor Anthony Barrese was researching Rossini, his favorite composer.
鈥淒uring COVID, we had a lot of time,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s I was doing more research, I started looking at composers who were contemporaries of Rossini. There were new operas being done all the time.鈥�
He was first drawn to 鈥淢atilde鈥� because it was his grandmother鈥檚 name.
鈥淚 started researching it and I found the music so charming and so delightful,鈥� he added.
鈥淐occia was on the verge of being a very famous composer before Rossini came in and obliterated everybody.鈥�
The opera tells the passionate love story of Federico and Matilde, complete with mistaken identities and a fraudulent letter.
鈥淚t has to do with a deception,鈥� Barrese said. 鈥淎 letter is read accusing someone of adultery. At the end, it鈥檚 redeemed.鈥�
The opera opened in 1811 at Venice鈥檚 Teator San Mois猫. It drew popularity in at least five cities outside Venice 鈥� Macerata, Naples, Padua, Rome and Milan, Barrese said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a beautiful lyricism in the solo arias,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a quartet that is just phenomenal. It鈥檚 an interlayering of drama and music.鈥�
The singers will don late 18th-19th century period costumes.
鈥淣o one in New York has ever heard this,鈥� Barrese said. 鈥淚鈥檓 never going to conduct a 鈥楤oh猫me鈥� here where nobody knows it. With this, we can discover it together.鈥�
