Rossini's Barber of Seville: On a Wig and a Prayer
b'Chances are, you know the overture to The Barber of Seville (maybe from Bugs Bunny?!) but Gioachino Rossini\\u2019s most famous opera is more than a comedic romp. Embedded in the topsy-turvy tale of young love and silly disguises, there is a story of forced marriage and a woman\\u2019s determination to live a life of her choosing.\\xa0\\nWe meet the heroine Rosina for the first time in the aria \\u201cUna voce poco fa,\\u201d in which she declares that while she may seem sweet and innocent, she is really not someone to be messed with. Host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore the courage it takes to live life on your own terms and the way this almost absurd story pulled from a centuries-old novel still resonates today. You\\u2019ll hear how one guest has her own escape-from-a-forced-marriage story that uncannily matches Rosina\\u2019s.The Guests:\\nSoprano Pretty Yende first sang the role of Rosina in Norway in 2014, and it\\u2019s since become one of her favorite roles. She loves playing Rosina because the character is fun, witty, and unlike so many operatic heroines, she gets to hit all the high notes and live happily ever after.\\nConductor James Conlon is Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera. He first heard The Barber of Seville when he was 11 years old and fell in love on the spot. Later that summer, he made his debut as director, producer, and Count Almaviva in his friend\\u2019s garage, with a very appreciative audience lined up in the driveway.\\nActivist Jasvinder Sanghera is a survivor of forced marriage. She has spent the last four decades advocating for women, children, and men silenced by domestic abuse and forced marriages, and founded the award-winning charity Karma Nirvana in 1993.'