On the occasion of the 45th edition of the Rossini Opera Festival scheduled from August 7 to 23, the unmissable guided tours of the Rossini National Museum return to delve into the operas that are staged in the year of Pesaro Italian Capital of Culture 2024 with two new productions: Bianca e Falliero, directed by Roberto Abbado and staged by Jean-Louis Grinda, and Ermione, conducted by Michele Mariotti and directed by Johannes Erath, and two revivals: L’equivoco stravagante created for ROF 2019 by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, directed by Michele Spotti, and Pier Luigi Pizzi’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, created for ROF 2018 and now directed by Lorenzo Passerini
A unique opportunity to learn more about the subjects, the protagonists, the historical performers and the genesis and debuts of the operas in the evolution of Rossini’s genius, narrated room by room by the expert guides of Sistema Museo, among places and personalities of the period, through documents, librettos, scores and works of art. For each opera there will be a visit in English, in the morning at 11 am, and one in Italian, in the afternoon at 4 pm.
The “Walking in the opera” visits are aimed at the ROF’s international audience – the in-depth title will always be performed on the same evening – but also at all those who wish to get to know and approach the great composer’s masterpieces.
Wednesday 7 August at 11 a.m. (English) and 4 p.m. (Italian)
ROF 2024 – A stroll through the opera Bianca and Falliero
A tour dedicated to Bianca and Falliero, or the council of three, a melodrama in two acts, first staged on 26 December 1819 at La Scala in Milan, in which the power of the Venetian Republic is set against the backdrop of the young protagonists’ thwarted love, amidst a disputed inheritance and a judgement that could lead to the death penalty. With a libretto by felice Romani, the opera is composed by Rossini in a period of very intense work during which, in little more than a year, he created several compositions including Ermione.
On stage at the Audutorium Scavolini 7, 11, 14 and 19 August
Saturday 10 August at 11 a.m. (English) and 4 p.m. (Italian)
ROF 2024 – A stroll through the opera The Barber of Seville
Second appointment dedicated to The Barber of Seville, Rossini’s masterpiece first performed on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. The story is based on the play Le Barbier de Séville ou La Précaution inutile by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais – hence the original title – and tells the story of the Count of Almaviva’s love for Rosina, a young girl he met in Madrid. The barber and handyman Figaro helps the Count to marry Rosina, distinguishing himself from all the other characters in the opera that made Rossini famous more than any other.
On stage at the Vitrifrigo Arena on 10, 15, 18 and 22 August
Friday 16 August at 11 a.m. (English) and 4 p.m. (Italian)
ROF 2024 – A stroll through the opera The Extravagant Misunderstanding
On 26 October 1811, The Extravagant Misunderstanding, to which the third visit is dedicated, was first performed at the Teatro del Corso in Bologna. Ermanno is in love with Ernestina, a young girl from a family of wealthy farmers, who, while returning his love, has been betrothed to the wealthy Buralicchio, but Frontino, the family waiter, concocts a misunderstanding to resolve the matter: he will make the betrothed believe that in reality Ernestina is none other than Ernesto, the male son of the family who has been emasculated. With a libretto by Gaetano Gasbarri, full of equivocal and double entendres, the opera debuted successfully but was then only performed three times and was only revived in the second half of the 20th century, after a long period of oblivion.
On stage at the Teatro Rossini 8, 12, 16 and 21 August
Tuesday 20 August at 11 a.m. (English) and 4 p.m. (Italian)
ROF 2024 – A stroll through the opera Ermione
The last appointment is dedicated to Ermione, one of the operas born of the professional partnership between Rossini and the impresario Barbaja. The tragic melodrama in two acts, to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, a librettist who worked repeatedly with the composer, was first staged on 27 March 1819 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Based on the tragedy Andromaque by Jean Racine, it features the ill-fated love of Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaus, for Pyrrhus, who falls in love with Andromache, Hector’s widow.
On stage at the Vitrifrigo Arena 9, 13, 17 and 20 August
We would like to remind you of the agreement in place with the ROF that allows visitors with tickets to the shows to enter with a reduced ticket.
Guided tours included in the ticket
Reservation required
Info and tickets
