L'occasione fa il ladro

L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro is an early Rossini work, and in my mind deserving of more recognition than it does. It is not one of Rossini's best operas, but it is swift, charming, funny and with the composer's beautiful and distinctive style all over it. This production is a gem, if you wish to introduce yourself to L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro do so here. The costumes and sets are simple but elegant and evocative also, while the stage direction is intelligent and helps to tell the story in a lively and very amusing way. The music has Rossini written all over it, and it is brought to life by energetic and lush orchestral playing and Gelmetti's(no stranger to Rossini's music himself) as ever adept conducting.

The performances in this production are as good as can be. The one who impressed me most was Susan Patterson, whose voice and technique are astonishing in their beauty and flexibility and her overall performance is really quite poignant. Monica Bacelli's voice is rich yet a little more even than it would become later, while she sinks her teeth into her role without overdoing it too much. Robert Gambill, well before his Wagnerian days, is an ideal Rossinian tenor, handsome and instantly appealing with a pleasing tone and the runs and high notes come effortlessly to him, or so it seems. Natale De Carolis' role is much broader, which he characterises with great gusto, comic timing and relish. Rossini stalwart Alessandro Corbelli as you'd expect gives his usual performance that you would find difficult to fault.

In conclusion, underrated Rossini done justice in this gem. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Watching this production, it is hard to believe that this youthful work (something like Rossini's eighth and one of six he composed in 1812) only achieved a modest five performances at its first venue, the Teatro San Moise in Venice. The typical Rossini panache for handling of comic situations and the seemingly effortless penning of florid vocal lines are already all securely in place. It is melodious from beginning to end. The libretto too (despite one or two ridiculous "plot twists" in the denouement - but hey this is Italian farce!) is deftly handled and swiftly advances the action to a happy ending.

It is really difficult to find lots of opera committed to video from an actual stage production, where the apparent ages of the cast match perfectly those of the characters they are playing. In this production the women (Monica Bacelli and Susan Patterson) are young and attractive, while the two male leads, (the baritone Natale de Carolis and tenor Robert Gambill) are actually tall and handsome enough to be in movies. The stock buffo (comic) character of the manservant is also suitably cast, with Alessandro Corbelli noticeably smaller in stature and more worn of appearance than his youthful master. Of course this is not all, the performances - both acting and vocally - are also well nigh impeccable. It is so wonderful to hear an entire cast of principals who have the Rossini style to perfection. Robert Gambill (Count Alberto) in particular took my breath away in his aria -such perfect runs and glorious tone that I cannot understand why he isn't the Bel Canto Man of the Moment (instead of Juan Diego Florez). Susan Patterson in the heroine role of Berenice shines in her big aria, (just) balancing technical precision and outraged tone. Gianluigi Gelmetti draws a spirited performance from his singers and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, while stage director Michael Hampe goes for just the amount of farcical hi-jinx. Add to this the setting of the Roccoco Schwetzingen Theatre and the entire experience of watching an opera of this genre, is pretty hard to beat.