The Barber of Seville

List of Characters

Count Almaviva (aka Lindoro; aka Don Alonso) - A Count from Spain who is in love with Rosina

Rosina - A ward of Doctor Bartolo

Doctor Bartolo - Rosina's ward

Figaro - A nosy barber

Don Basilio - Rosina's music teacher and Doctor Bartolo's friend

Synopsis

Act I

The opera opens to Count Almaviva standing outside a house in Seville, singing a serenade. He's fallen in love with a beautiful young woman named Rosina. The Count has trailed her home, disguised as a poor student and calling himself Lindoro - hoping she'll fall for him, and not just his title. The serenade is lovely, but it doesn't work because Rosina does not appear.

Figaro, a barber who knows all the town’s secrets and scandals, makes a boisterous entrance. Upon seeing the Count, Figaro tells him that Rosina is Doctor Bartolo’s ward, not his daughter and that Bartolo intends to marry her. The Count is despondent. Figaro, wanting to help (or meddle) figures the only way the Count can speak with Rosina is to find a way into the house - and he has a plan. The Count will disguise himself as a drunken soldier with orders to be quartered at Bartolo’s house so that he may gain access to the girl. Count Almaviva is excited with this plan, and Figaro looks forward to a nice cash pay-off.

Inside, Rosina has written a letter to 'Lindoro', the poor but handsome suitor she's spotted outside. Bartolo hears from his friend, the music teacher Don Basilio, that a Count named Almaviva is in town, and has his eyes on Rosina. Bartolo decides he'd better marry his ward quickly before this troublesome Count gets in the way. But Figaro overhears this and warns Rosina. He also agrees to deliver her letter to 'Lindoro', going along with the Count's deception.

Before long, Almaviva arrives in his drunken soldier disguise, enraging Bartolo by demanding housing and repeatedly mispronouncing the Doctor's name. Bartolo produces an official document exempting him from mandatory billetting, and the Count protests... loudly. Figaro shows up again and the commotion draws the police, who threaten to arrest Almaviva. When the Count quietly produces some identification, they back off in a hurry. Bartolo is outraged. Nobody but Figaro understands why the police are treating the 'drunken soldier' with kid gloves. The first act ends with almost everyone in a state of confusion.

Act 2

Bartolo suspects the 'soldier' was a spy planted by the Count and decides to keep a lookout. The Count does return; however, this time disguised as Don Alonso, a music teacher and student of Don Basilio. He announces he will give Rosina her music lesson in place of Basilio, who, he says, is ill at home. 'Don Alonso' tells Bartolo that he is staying at the same inn as the Count and has found a letter from Rosina. He offers to tell her that it was given to him by another woman, seemingly to prove that Lindoro is toying with Rosina on the Count’s behalf. This convinces Bartolo that “Don Alonso” is indeed a student of the scheming Basilio, and he allows him to give Rosina her music lesson.

Meanwhile, Figaro shows up to give Bartolo a shave and a haircut. When Bartolo sends him to fetch the shaving gear, Figaro also steals the key to Rosina's balcony door. Then he knocks over a stack of dishes, making a ruckus that brings Bartolo to investigate. This leaves Rosina and Count Almaviva alone to declare their love.

Don Basilio, the real music teacher, arrives and threatens to foil the whole plan; but with Figaro's help, the lovers convince him that he really is sick and had best save his energy and go home. Count Almaviva pays him off, just for good measure, and Don Basilio leaves. Count Almaviva and Rosina agree to elope at midnight, using the stolen key.

But Basilio returns, and Bartolo finds out that Rosina has just had a music lesson from a phony teacher. He's not sure exactly what's going on but decides to marry Rosina immediately. First, he sends Basilio off to fetch a notary. Then Bartolo shows Rosina the letter she wrote to the guy she knows as Lindoro, the poor student. Bartolo tells her it was given to him by a Count named Almaviva - who is using Lindoro to get to her. Rosina still doesn't realize that Lindoro actually is Count Almaviva. Devastated, she agrees to marry Bartolo, if only to get even with Lindoro and the conniving Count.

With Rosina alone in her room, Figaro and Count Almaviva climb a ladder to her balcony, as planned, and open the door. Calling Almaviva 'Lindoro', Rosina throws his letter at him and accuses him of trying to sell her to the Count. But when Almaviva reveals his identity, all is forgiven. Figaro tells them there is no time to waste, and tries to hurry them out of the house. But they can't leave yet - there's a love duet to sing! By the time they've finished, Bartolo has removed the ladder and they're trapped.

Just then, Don Basilio rushes into the room with the notary while Bartolo is fetching the police to get his household back under control. Figaro immediately tells the notary to marry Almaviva and Rosina. When the Count produces a nice roll of cash - and a pistol - Don Basilio agrees to act as a witness and the ceremony is performed. When Bartolo turns up with the police in tow, it is too late. With no options left, Bartolo blesses the newlyweds and everyone wishes them a long and happy marriage.

What's Up With This Plot?

The Barber of Seville is considered an Opera Buffa or Comic Opera, which is similar to some of our TV sitcoms or comedic movies today. In fact, like sitcoms and movies, this type of opera was written for and depicted common people in ordinary situations, and contained comedic characters and situations. Can you think of a tv sitcom or movie whose characters are 'ordinary people' living 'ordinary lives' but get into convoluted situations that make the show's plot funny?

The Barber of Seville is considered to be the ultimate Opera Buffa because almost every scene and character are funny in its/their ridiculousness. A parody of this opera was created by Warner Bros. Looney Tunes, entitled Rabbit of Seville. The piece of music used in the cartoon is the Overture of the opera. An Overture is the first piece of music you will hear in an opera, is played while the curtain is down, and often uses melodies that will be heard later on in the opera. Let's watch a video excerpt of the Rabbit of Seville, which uses the Overture of The Barber of Seville, and see how it captures the vibe of Opera Buffa.

Where Did This Opera Come From?

The music for The Barber of Seville opera was written in 1816 by Gioacchino Rossini, who was a composer during the Classic and Romantic Periods. Rossini based his opera on the storyline of Pierre Beaumarchais's play of the same name, of which it is the first of three plays in the 'Figaro' series. While Rossini'sThe Barber of Seville is one of the most popular operas today, he was not the first to use Beaumarchais's play as the setting of an opera - three other composers wrote operas using this same play.

The premiere of Rossini's The Barber of Seville was a disastrous failure because the audience hissed and jeered throughout. Many of the audience disruptions were caused by supporters of one of Rossini's rivals, Giovanni Paisiello, who had already composed on opera based on the play The Barber of Seville, and took Rossini's new version to be an affront to his version. There were also several on-stage disruptions during this premiere. It has been rumored that a cat wandered onto the stage during the finale and meowed at the audience. Of course, this caused the audience to howl with laughter and further disrupt the performance. All of these problems caused Rossini to feign illness and take to his bed. While it cannot be denied The Barber of Seville got off to a bad start, word spread about the opera and the second performance was a roaring success... and has been ever since.

Is The Barber In This Opera Like The Barbers of Today?

Barbers of the past were well respected in society because their skills provided the equivalent of walk-in clinics for their day. Sort of like untrained doctors, they pulled teeth and applied leeches to draw blood out of infections, as well as give shaves and haircuts. They also had access to everyone - from commoners to royalty. By the late 1700’s they were forbidden to do any surgery and their current profession of providing just shaves and haircuts has not changed since that time. The red and white barber poles that still exist outside some barbershops reflect the blood-letting tradition: the used clothes were hung from a pole and the wind often wrapped and twisted them around the pole creating the design...eew!

Fun Facts

Rossini claimes he wrote the music for The Barber of Seville in only 12 days!

Rossini was born bissextile (that’s the correct term for a person born in a leap year). He was born on February 29, 1792. Rossini had quite a good sense of humor about this. He sent an 18th birthday invitation to his friends when he turned 72.

In his youth, Rossini was a good-looking man; however, he went bald in middle age. Rossini dealt with his hair loss by buying seven toupees - one for every day of the week!

Rossini retired at the age of 37 and lived a life full of parties and fun for the next four decades.

Activity - Figaro 3 in 1

Figaro serves a comedic role in the opera, and the way Rossini introduces this character helps the audience understand his role right from the beginning. The following video clip of Figaro's first entrance of the opera starts with a character that kind of speaks/sings. In opera, this speaking/singing type style is used for the dialogue of the play and is called a Recitative. The songs, of which one will happen when Figaro appears, are called Arias in opera. As you watch the video clip, think about the questions below.

How does Figaro describe life as the barber of Seville?
How does Figaro describe himself?
What are the tools of Figaro's trade?
What other services does Figaro offer?
How do Figaro's physical actions describe his character?
How would you describe Figaro's overall character based on the scene you watched?

The opera singer who plays the role of Figaro in the video clip is named Peter Mattei. Do an internet search about Mattei to answer the following questions.

Where is Peter Mattei from originally?
How old is Peter Mattei?
What voice part does Peter Mattei sing?
What was Peter Mattei's musical training?
What other operas has Peter Mattei performed?
In which countries has Peter Mattei performed opera?
What kind of things have opera music critics said about Peter Mattei's performances in operas?
What other musical instruments does Peter Mattei play?