Giovanni Paisiello - Il barbiere di Siviglia - "Don Basilio! Giusto cielo!" (Antonino Siragusa, Anna Maria dell'Oste, Luciano di Pasquale, Pietro Spagnoli & Donato di Gioia)

P.S. Do leave a comment on how you would compare the pieces :). Rossini's and Paisiello's treatments of the brilliant Act Two quintet couldn't be anymore delightful than they already are, but they also couldn't be any more different. Rossini's version develops completely in accordance with Paisiello's earlier version, but it has to be said that Paisiello's version is even more elaborate than his future rival's. Rossini himself wrote that he preferred the elegance and complexity of Paisiello's version. The complete banishing of Basilio is set to basically the same musical background which is changed according to the situation. This accompaniment is contrasted with several "joke sections": first, the rising (through the lower to the higher voices) of the phrases ending with "curiale" (meaning, if I'm right, "bureaucratic" or, in this setting with the whole phrase, "what's with all these pleasantries?") and, then, in the place of "Buona sera", a brilliant succession of "andante a letto" echoed by all characters, even Basilio himself; finally, a most brutal "buona sera", as all try to push Basilio out of the room. The scene then continues just as in Rossini's version with an interesting alarm for Figaro which breaks up Almaviva's private discussion with Rosina. The subsequent presto section, just after Bartolo has solved the "Don Alonso" puzzle, is unusually inverted by the fact that it is the trio that attacks Bartolo, rather than the other way around, while the latter turns his rage completely to Figaro. The stretta is wonderfully synchronized, bringing an end to a wonderful theatric piece. Here is a list of the soloists: Il conte d'Almaviva - Antonino Siragusa, Rosina - Anna Maria dell'Oste, Bartolo - Luciano di Pasquale, Figaro - Pietro Spagnoli, Don Basilio - Donato di Gioia. Enjoy :)!