This evening we celebrate Italian National Day Festa della Repubblica with this popular aria by Italian composer Rossini, performed by Craig Colclough from his Los Angeles home.

For those who were lucky enough to experience Craig Colclough’s compassionate portrayal of the wise, simple Storyteller in John Adams’ ‘A Flowering Tree’, experiencing this enthusiastic homage to deceit and intrigue from Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’ may come as a complete surprise!

Craig shares his performance with us from his home in Los Angeles county, with his children playing in the backyard. Craig counts his blessings as he introduces his choice of a song dear to his heart, ‘La calunnia’, about mischief and fun and hopes the performance will bring joy and levity, all of which are much needed in times like these.

Rossini’s devious, dubious “doctor” Basilio, the sly and scheming music master, finds nothing more appealing than a bit of finely-tuned calunnia, or slander, to further the ambitions of anyone with questionable designs or an inappropriate cause. That character could hardly be a greater contrast with baritone Craig Colclough’s 2019 appearance with Opera Queensland.