What opera will reign supreme as the greatest commedia per musica ever composed? The Coda Clash presents a contest of canonical comedic operas: Rossini’s Barber of Seville v. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Based on the Figaro trilogy written by Beaumarchais, a man who made his theatrical reputation in a stage-mad France where Marie-Antoinette once played Rosine in the Barber of Seville, this Coda Clash is a spectacle of stagecraft and compositional creativity.

Join hosts Chris Stacey and Daniel Balsam for this special two-part edition of Coda Clash. The agenda for this special two-part series of Coda Clash is:

• Definitions of comedy in opera. What is "funny" to opera audiences throughout history?
• Gambling, card playing, drinking, eating and community in Italian opera houses during Rossini's day.
• Intriguing formal techniques in the Barber of Seville such as the "quadro di stupore" (transfixed with surprise) in the Finale of Act I.
• Battle of the Segments: highlights of the Barber of Seville (for comparison with Part II, Marriage of Figaro)
• The influence of Rossini on popular culture such as the 1950 Looney Tunes Rabbit of Seville directed by Chuck Jones.
• Was Rossini a musical genius?
• Audience Vote On Barber of Seville - compared with audience vote on Marriage of Figaro in Part II to determine the Coda Clash Winner.

Themes: money, slander, deception, intrigue, useless precautions, the ancient regime, traditional social and gender roles, and "true love".

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Time: 6:30PM Central, 7:30PM Eastern, 4:30PM Pacific

Location: Zoom Video Conference

Cost: Free