Third time's a charm for Juan Diego Flórez (check out Opera Chic's exclusive interview with him here): After two* performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at La Scala (*#1 was obliterated due to a union strike and #2 was sung by most of the second cast), Flórez's opening night came on July 12 where he took the opera theater by storm with a triumphant Count Almaviva. Like we were expecting anything less?
Milan's newspaper, Corriere della Sera called Flórez "Fenomenale", opening the review: "Flórez is probably the only contemporary singer in the world where it's worth it to buy a ticket to his performances even if the conducting, company, or direction isn't worth the time."
La Scala used a forty-one-year old revival of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's sets, directions, and costumes to welcome the Peruvian tenor who hadn't been back on the Scala stage since a 2008 recital. Phenomenally phenomenal!