After its 1782 premiere at the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg, Russia, “Barber” was such an international smash that Mozart tried to capitalize by writing a sequel, “The Marriage of Figaro,” and then Rossini wrote his own opera on the same material.
The original piece does still live on in libraries and the occasional revival, and on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 7, the enterprising folks at the West Edge Opera brought it out for an attractive and altogether ingratiating concert performance, the first of two. Читать дальше...