Rossini's sparkling La scala di seta of 1812 weaves a burlesque tale of gentlemen climbing in and out of a lady's bedchamber on a silken ladder. Damiano Michieletto's modern-day production from the Rossini Festival in Pesaro sets the action in the two-room apartment of the heroine Giulia, sung with 'wonderful suppleness' (Opernwelt) by Olga Peretyatko. The production also features a spectacular grand aria for Blansac (Carlo Lepore) extraneous to the work. Leading a young and spirited cast of Rossini specialists is maestro Claudio Scimone, a key figure in the international Rossini Renaissance. 'Paolo Bordogna is one of Italy's finest comic singer/actors. He played the part of Germano, the servant who Dormont has engaged to keep an eye on Giulia. Every Bordogna movement is a musical delight. His diction is wonderfully clean and meaningful. He knows about taking farce seriously in order to deliver it. His aria - Amore dolciamente - had the merest hint of irony - just the kind of subtlety the composer requires.' - Seen & Heard International.