Opera fans, your ‘Barber of Seville’ is calling

Opera fans still have a chance to catch a 1 p.m. screening of "The Barber of Seville" (Il Barbiere di Siviglia") today at the Regal Cinemas theater at Northtown Mall. If that isn't convenient, the production will play at again at 7 p.m. at both Northtown and at Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone Stadium 14.

"The Barber of Seville" production comes courtesy of "The Met: Live in HD" series. Directed by Bartlett Sher, it features mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, and baritone Peter Mattei. Composed by Gianchino Rossini, the work was first performed in 1816 in Rome — to, it should be pointed out, to disastrous reviews.

But the work has endured. "The Met: Live in HD" production was first presented in 2007. Here are some critical comments concerning the production, which had previously opened in New York:

Anthony Tommasini, New York Times: "For the inventive, breezy new production of 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' at the Metropolitan Opera, which opened on Friday night and boasts a winning cast, the director Bartlett Sher, making his Met debut, has embraced the opera’s atmosphere of intrigue and subterfuge."

Matthew Westphal, Playbill: "Taking the role of Rosina this time around is mezzo Joyce DiDonato, who thrilled all London when she sang the part at Covent Garden last season, carrying off the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for best singer in the process. (The jury caller her performance 'a revelatory celebration of Rossini's style and spirit.')"

So go, see some opera. But don't hum along to the familiar tunes. The people sitting near you aren't likely to appreciate it.