Rossini’s mistaken identity opportunity Operanorman lebrecht January 30, 2026Gioachino Rossini composed the one-act opera L’occasione fa il ladro (Opportunity Makes a Thief) in 1812 – according to some in less than two weeks – and it already contains everything that characterises his later works: barnstorming ensembles, moving and virtuoso arias, comical instrumental effects and the composer’s first storm music. But behind the turbulent plot of L’occasione fa il ladro lie questions of identity theft, social role-playing and the universally human quest to find oneself. In MusikTheater an der Wien’s acclaimed production at the Kammeroper, Marcos Darbyshire directs this comedy of fourfold mistaken identities with a superb young cast. Inna Demenkova sings Berenice, Alberto Robert as Conte Alberto, Roberto Lorenzi as Don Parmenione and Petra Radulovic as Ernestina. It is found by Don Parmenione who, discovering a portrait of Alberto’s fiancée Berenice inside, sees an opportunity.