Chorus & Orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo

Among Rossini’s numerous comic operas, La Cenerentola (1817) has long held a place second only to The Barber of Seville. In fact, for many years it was often more popular than The Barber, until its extreme vocal difficulties became too much

Enrico Caruso sang in the premiere of this opera in 1898, and it became a favorite worldwide. Giordano’s opera Andrea Chenier eventually surpassed it in popularity, and today it is a staple mainly of Italian opera houses—but its great tenor

Little known today, mainly because almost no sopranos other than Mme. Caballé can sing it, Gemma di Vergy was for some years in the 19th century the most popular opera by Donizetti, produced more often than Lucia, Don Pasquale, L'elisir d'a