Maometto Secundo

The other night I found myself at the Santa Fe Opera watching, and more importantly listening to, Maometto II, a Rossini opera, performed with its original score for the first time since 1820.
The opera wasn’t a big hit in its first performance in that year. It’s completely sung-through, which was pretty radical for the time, and there are no places where the music stops to allow the audience to cheer and applaud. The performers spend a lot of time singing about things that are happening offst...