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A quick overview of Rossini’s 1816 comic opera masterpiece.

Premiered

1816

Music by

Gioachino Rossini

Libretto by

Cesare Sterbini

Language

Italian

“Figaro! Figaro! Fiiigarooo!” Indeed, demand is at an all-time high for the sharp-scissored and equally sharp-witted barber of Seville. Chief among the clamoring masses is Count Almaviva, who begs his friend to help him woo the beautiful young Rosina. The catch? A bumbling, older doctor has claimed her first! Pulling from a bottomless bag of tricks and disguises, this scheming duo stops at nothing—breaking and entering, shaving distractions, even good old-fashioned bribery—to turn the tables in the name of true love.

If you feel like you’ve heard the name “Figaro” before, that might be because you’re thinking of The Marriage of Figaro, which is a completely different opera by a completely different composer (Mozart), but about the same guy. 

The Barber of Seville (or Il barbiere di Siviglia, in Italian) is actually one of several operas based on a trilogy of plays written by a French author named Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799), which follows the ups and downs in the life of Figaro, a talented working-class jack-of-all-trades, and also sheds light on the less-than-exemplary behavior of Figaro’s wealthy employers.

All of the three plays (The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Guilty Mother) were ultimately turned into operas—and The Barber of Seville was actually transformed into an opera more than once.

In fact, when his version first burst on the scene, Rossini’s Barber wasn’t even the most popular setting of the story. That honor went instead to an alternate adaptation by then-operatic rock star Giovanni Paisiello, whose supporters were reportedly so loyal that they mercilessly heckled Rossini and his singers on the night of the new Barber’s premiere in 1816. Yet though Rossini’s version wasn’t an instant success, it soon made its way to London, Paris, Berlin, and, eventually, New York. Today, Rossini’s Barber of Seville is among the most frequently performed operas in the world.

The Barber of Seville was written in a nineteenth-century Italian style known as bel canto (literally, “beautiful singing”), which featured songs designed to demonstrate the beauty, speed, and agility of the human voice. Listen up for arias featuring Olympic vocal feats such as rapid-fire melodies or long, extended phrases where each syllable takes up several notes and the singer has to stretch their vocal range from the highest to the lowest extreme…and then back again. (Keep in mind: Lots of bel canto arias were written in two parts, so when a soloist starts singing a lovely, lilting tune, you can bet a cabaletta—a galloping melody with occasional freewheeling improvisation—will follow.)

Side note: If you were to read the Beaumarchais plays in chronological order, The Barber of Seville comes first and The Marriage of Figaro comes second. This makes Mozart’s opera a sequel to Rossini’s, even though Mozart, whom Rossini idolized, wrote his piece earlier (weird, we know).

Spain, the seventeenth century.

Almaviva, a young, handsome, and ridiculously wealthy count from Madrid, has a problem: He’s caught feelings for a girl who lives miles away in sunny Seville.

Almaviva’s packed up all his things, adopted a humble disguise (just in case his girl turns out to be a heartless gold digger), and moved to the lovely lady’s hometown. He’s also managed to track her down in the house of Dr. Bartolo, a well-known physician in the area. Sadly, though, that’s as far as Almaviva has thought his plan through. Now, he just sits beneath her balcony and sings cheesy love songs in the hope of getting her attention.

But the count’s luck is about to change.

By an unbelievable coincidence (just go with it), Figaro, an old friend and servant to the count, has set up shop in Seville as a barber, surgeon, pharmacist, gardener, matchmaker, and all-around Mr. Fixit. Amazingly, he has an “in” with Dr. Bartolo: Figaro is the doctor’s favorite factotum, or handyman. Happily reunited with Almaviva, Figaro explains the count’s beloved is actually the doctor’s adopted ward.

Turns out Bartolo’s ward is just as interested in Almaviva as he is in her. His serenades have caught her eye (and ear) and, despite being kept under lock and key by the paranoid doctor, she boldly introduces herself by dropping a note out of her window: Her name is Rosina. And she wants to know about her singing suitor’s intentions.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. There’s someone else with an interest in Rosina: Dr. Bartolo. Out on the street, Figaro and Almaviva overhear the old man as he lets slip he has plans to marry his ward.

Shocked, Almaviva decides to up his game. With Figaro’s help, the count answers Rosina’s note by presenting himself to her as “Lindoro”, a poor pretty boy with nothing to offer but his heart.

Rosina thinks he’s dreamy and flirts back. Convinced he’s won her affection, the count conspires with Figaro to use the barber’s connections in order to shake things up in the Bartolo household. If anyone’s going to marry Rosina, it will be “Lindoro.”

Sadly, though, Dr. Bartolo’s not entirely as stupid as he looks. Thanks to Don Basilio, Rosina’s music teacher and one of Bartolo’s cronies, the doctor learns that Count Almaviva is in town. Bartolo has heard through the grapevine that the count has designs on Rosina (but has yet to discover Almaviva’s been making moves on Rosina in disguise). As a result, Basilio suggests they hatch a plot to discredit Almaviva with some slanderous fake news.

Later, the ever-suspicious Bartolo discovers how Rosina’s been communicating with her unknown Romeo. Before the doctor can punish her, a drunken soldier stumbles into Bartolo’s home asking for room and board. (Guess what? It’s actually the count…disguised as “Lindoro”…disguised as a local military man. Again, just go with it.) The prank spins out of control, however, when the ruckus he makes disturbs the neighbors and the police come knocking at the doctor’s door. Not to worry, though: The count privately explains he’s actually a nobleman, and the police back off. Still, almost everyone is severely confused.

Listen to the Story

Anonymous, The Barber of Seville - “The Beard,” engraving, Bibliothèque-Musée De L’Opéra National De Paris-Garnier.

Presented by Washington National Opera, host Saul Lilienstein takes you through the musical world of Rossini’s 1816 comic opera masterpiece, The Barber of Seville.

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