This superb production of the opera Matilde di Shabran features soloists Juan Diego Flórez and Olga Peretyatko and conductor Michele Mariotti at the head of the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In this making of, director Mario Martone explains his stage work as the artists justify their interpretive choices. Juan Diego Flórez sings Corroding. The Deutschlandradio said about his performance : "perhaps the best Rossini tenor of our time." The New York Times said that Matilde is "gorgeously sung by Olga Peretyatko." Mario Martone's production gives pride of place to two imposing spiral staircases that not only allow grand entrances and exits, but also occasional displays of athleticism!
Working with Rossini's music is one of the best experiences that a director can have and I think that for an orchestra director, a singer, and for the public, it's also an extraodinary experience. Indeed, Rossini's music gives a unique experience of creativity, of vitality, and I'd like to add some sensuality too. This is an opera in which the orchestra plays a dominant role and it's not subordinate to the singing.
