Rossini as rom-com: Opera Hong Kong sets The Barber of Seville in Hollywood’s golden age

Director turns to the theatre of Hollywood musicals for production of Rossini comic opera, and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Lauricella, making her Asian debut, relishes the challenge of singing Rosina, gutsy girl in a man’s world

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Edoardo Milletti (left) as Il Conte D’Almaviva and Stephanie Lauricella (Rosina) rehearse for The Barber of Seville.

Published: 5:03pm, 2 May 2017Updated: 5:25pm, 3 May 2017

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville may have a predominantly male cast, but that has not put American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Lauricella off taking part in this popular opera. Far from feeling intimidated, the 32-year-old relishes the opportunity to make her character stand out.

“She’s a lot of fun,” says Lauricella, who sings the part of Rosina in Opera Hong Kong’s latest production of the Italian opera.

The first time Lauricella sang the role of Rosina in 2010, it helped launch her career.

“Other than me, there’s Berta, who has an aria as well, but it’s mostly guys. I find it interesting to figure out the dynamic between her and all of them. She doesn’t give in to anyone really, she stands on her own. She has the full range of emotions in this opera – love-struck, bored, angry, bewildered.

“It’s fun because you have the world in front of you and she has a different dynamic with each character. She has attitude.”

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Rosina – a young girl confined by her uncle and guardian who intends to marry her once she comes of age for her inheritance – is a role that Lauricella knows well. She performed it for the first time with Pittsburgh Opera in 2010, and is eager to breathe new life into Rosina in a production by director Lorenzo Mariani that is set in Hollywood in the 1930s.