Gioachino Rossini wrote some forty operas, but only a select few are performed regularly. On this week's Sunday Opera, hear one of his rarely performed works, the massive Matilde di Shabran, an 1821 opera that tells the story of a strong young woman who defeats her rival to win the man she's decided she wants. Our Matilde in this live recording from the 2004 Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro is Annick Massis, and her intended, although he doesn't quite know it, is the soaring Juan Diego Florez as Coradino. Riccardo Frizza conducts the Prague Chamber Choir and the Symphonic Orchestra of Galicia.
Then travel to the 20th century with host Michael Kownacky after the opera for an interesting work by Paul Hindemith entitled Symphonia Serena to fill the rest of the afternoon.