"La calunnia è un venticello"

In this Act I aria, the scheming music teacher Don Basilio describes how a slanderous rumor (calumny) starts as a whisper but can grow into a powerful force that ruins a person’s reputation. "La calunnia è un venticello" ("Slander is a little breeze").

The aria starts softly and grows in intensity, mimicking the way gossip spreads, from a whisper to a roaring crescendo.

Get a sneak peek here.  La Calunnia performed by Kristinn Sigmondsson as Don Basilio. This clip was taken for Rossini's opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia recorded in 2002