1822: Opera Fever

Available for 36 days

1822, Vienna. When Gioachino Rossini arrives in the Austrian capital, he is greeted like an international celebrity. His operas pack theatres, his melodies are sung in the streets, and admirers celebrate him with everything from fashionable accessories to elaborate restaurant dishes. In an age when opera dominates musical life, Rossini has become its biggest star. As opera houses multiply across Europe and beyond, opera becomes the dominant form of musical entertainment and one of the defining cultural industries of the nineteenth century. From The Barber of Seville and The Italian Girl in Algiers to Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Meyerbeer's grand historical dramas, opera grows ever more ambitious in scale and influence. Romantic heroes, political rebels, tragic heroines and spectacular stage effects draw vast audiences, establishing opera as one of the great popular art forms of the age. Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the next eight programmes, historian Simon Schama is in the chair, as together they explore the rich musical world of the Classical era. Producer: Chris Taylor Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford Story Consultant: Kate Leys Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan. Gioachino Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia – "Largo al factotum" Roberto Servile (Figaro, baritone) Budapest Failoni Chamber Orchestra Will Humburg (conductor) Gioachino Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri – "Va sossopra il mio cervello" Patrizia Pace (Elvira, soprano) Anna Gonda (Zulma, soprano) Agnes Baltsa (Isabella, mezzo-soprano) Frank Lopardo (Lindoro, tenor) Alessandro Corbelli (Taddeo, baritone) Enzo Dara (Mustafà, bass-baritone) Ruggero Raimondi (Haly, bass) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Vienna State Opera Orchestra Claudio Abbado (conductor) Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor – "Spargi d'amore pianto" Dame Joan Sutherland (Lucia, soprano) Luciano Pavarotti (Edgardo, tenor) Pier Francesco Poli (Arturo, tenor) Ryland Davies (Normanno, tenor) Huguette Tourangeau (Alisa, mezzo-soprano) Sherrill Milnes (Enrico, baritone) Nicolai Ghiaurov (Raimondo, bass-baritone) Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden Richard Bonynge (conductor) Gioachino Rossini: Guillaume Tell – Overture Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna Michele Mariotti (conductor) Giacomo Meyerbeer: Le Prophète – "Roi du ciel et des anges" James McCracken (Jean de Leyde, tenor) Marilyn Horne (Fidès, mezzo-soprano) Renata Scotto (Berthe, soprano) Christian du Plessis (Le Comte d'Oberthal, baritone) Jules Bastin (Zacharie, bass) Jerome Hines (Mathisen, bass) Ambrosian Singers Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Henry Lewis (conductor) Gioachino Rossini: Chant funèbre à Meyerbeer Victor Jacob Chœur de l'Opéra Royal Pierre-Olivier Schmitt (conductor) Vincenzo Bellini: Norma – "Casta Diva" Maria Callas (Norma, soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan Tullio Serafin (conductor) To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."