Misha Kiria in Deutsche Oper Berlin bill for 'The Barber of Seville'
The Georgian singer is closing his performing year with the appearance as Bartolo in Berlin. Photo via Misha Kiria on Facebook.
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Georgian baritone Misha Kiria will close his performing year tomorrow at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with an appearance in The Barber of Seville, appearing on the stage as Bartolo in what will be the last show in the bill until late February.
At the major venue Gioacchino Rossini's classic will be staged in a redaction by Katharina Thalbach, who has praised the musical score of the 1816-premiered show for its lively and infectious character, evident on stage as much as in rehearsals.
I was amazed by the artistry and speed of Rossini. ... During rehearsals I notice again and again how the music hits my legs and I involuntarily dance along. It shimmers, sparkles and is just fun. And this feeling of life should come across as possible in our production" - Katharina Thalbach
Bartolo, Kiria's character in the three-hour production, is a guardian of Rosina (performed by Vasilisa Berzhanskaya) and one of the protagonists of the storyline in which the young woman is a target of an planned marriage and therefore shielded from outside contacts.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA by Gioacchino Rossini is a proper feel-good opera. Let’s join Katharina Thalbach’s lively production tonight @deutsche_oper w/ @matthewnewlin @kiria_misha #VasilisaBerzhanskaya @thomaselehman #AndrewHarris #MatthewCossack et al.
— Deutsche Oper Berlin (@deutsche_oper) December 12, 2019
Toi, toi, toi! pic.twitter.com/H8BOtDgehJ
On the other hand, Rosina is a target of love from Count Almaviva (Matthew Newlin), assisted by barber Figaro (Samuel Dale Johnson) in his plan to pry her away from the materialist-driven arrangement.
Originally part of an 18th century trilogy by Pierre Beaumarchais, the play was adapted to stage by Rossini over three decades later and comes via a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The opera debuted at the Berlin venue a decade ago.
In his message to social media followers earlier this month, ahead of the opening show of the bill, Kiria said he was dedicating his appearance to the memory of "my maestro" Nodar Andghuladze, a Georgian tenor who passed away in 2013.
Kiria has received critical acclaim from the Opera Magazine for his “dominating [...] singing with an impressive, sonorous voice” in a new production of The Barber of Seville.
The Berlin bill of the production will have four more shows this season.