For other uses, see. The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution : Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione is an in two acts by with an Italian by. The libretto was based on 's French comedy 1775. The première of Rossini's opera under the title Almaviva, o sia L'inutile precauzione took place on 20 February 1816 at the , Rome, with designs by. After two hundred years, it remains a popular work. Rossini's opera recounts the events of the first of the by French playwright that revolve around the clever and enterprising character named , the barber of the title. The first Beaumarchais play was originally conceived as an , but was rejected as such by the. The play as it is now known was premiered in 1775 by the at the in Paris. Other operas based on the first play were composed by his premiered in 1782 , by in 1796, and then by in 1816. Though the work of Paisiello triumphed for a time, only Rossini's version has stood the test of time and continues to be a mainstay of operatic repertoire. On 11 November 1868, two days before Rossini's death, the composer Costantino Dall'Argine 1842—1877 premiered an opera based on the same libretto as Rossini's work, bearing a dedication to Rossini. Performed in 1929 by the conducted by Problems playing these files? Rossini was well known for being remarkably productive, completing an average of two operas per year for 19 years, and in some years writing as many as four. Musicologists believe that, true to form, the music for Il barbiere di Siviglia was composed in just under three weeks, although the famous was actually recycled from two earlier Rossini operas, and and thus contains none of the thematic material in Il barbiere di Siviglia itself. The premiere of Rossini's opera at the Teatro Argentina in Rome was a disaster: the audience hissed and jeered throughout, and several on-stage accidents occurred. Furthermore, many of the audience were supporters of one of Rossini's rivals, , who played on to provoke the rest of the audience to dislike the opera. Paisiello had already composed and took Rossini's new version to be an affront to his version. In particular, Paisiello and his followers were opposed to the use of , which is common in. The second performance, however, was successful. The original French play, Le Barbier de Séville, had a similar story: poorly received at first, only to become a favorite within a week. The opera was first performed in England on 10 March 1818 at the in London in Italian, soon followed on 13 October at the by an English version translated by and. It was first performed in America on 3 May 1819 in English probably the Covent Garden version at the in New York. It was given in French at the in New Orleans on 4 March 1823, and became the first opera ever to be performed in Italian in New York, when Manuel Garcia who played Almaviva and his Italian troupe opened their first season there with Il barbiere on 29 November 1825 at the Park Theatre. The cast of eight had three other members of his family, including the 17-year-old Maria-Felicia, later known as. The role of Rosina was originally written for a. The most serious distortion has been the upward of the role of Rosina, turning her from a lustrous alto into a pert soprano. Famous recent mezzo-soprano Rosinas include , , , , , , , , and. Famous contralto Rosinas include. Lindoro, who is really the young Count Almaviva in disguise, hopes to make the beautiful Rosina love him for himself — not his money. Almaviva pays off the musicians who then depart, leaving him to brood alone. Rosina is the young ward of the grumpy, elderly Bartolo and she is allowed very little freedom because Bartolo plans to marry her once she is of age and thus appropriate her not inconsiderable dowry. Since Figaro used to be a servant of the Count, the Count asks him for assistance in helping him meet Rosina, offering him money should he be successful in arranging this. Figaro advises the Count to disguise himself as a drunken soldier, ordered to be billeted with Bartolo, so as to gain entrance to the house. For this suggestion, Figaro is richly rewarded. Aurelia Dobrovolskaya lyric coloratura soprano , 1914 Problems playing this file? This aria was originally written in the key of , but it is sometimes transposed a up into for to perform, giving them the chance to sing extra, almost traditional, cadenzas, sometimes reaching high Ds or even Fs. Problems playing this file? Knowing the Count only as Lindoro, Rosina writes to him. As she is leaving the room, Bartolo and Basilio enter. When the two have gone, Rosina and Figaro enter. Figaro asks Rosina to write a few encouraging words to Lindoro, which she has actually already written. Although surprised by Bartolo, Rosina manages to fool him, but he remains suspicious. Count Almaviva, disguised as a soldier and pretending to be drunk, enters the house and demands to be quartered there. In fear of the drunken man, Berta the housekeeper rushes to Bartolo for protection. Almaviva pretends to be too drunk and belligerent to understand, and dares Bartolo to brawl. While Bartolo searches his cluttered desk for the official document which would prove his exemption, Almaviva whispers to Rosina that he is Lindoro in disguise, and passes a love-letter to her. Bartolo suspiciously demands to know what is in the piece of paper in Rosina's hands, but she fools him by handing over her laundry list. Bartolo and the Count argue loudly. Basilio enters; then Figaro, who warns that the noise of the argument is rousing the whole neighborhood. Finally, the noise attracts the attention of the Officer of the Watch and his troops, who crowd into the room. The Officer starts to do so, but Almaviva quietly reveals his true identity to the Officer, and he the Officer backs off and stands down. Bartolo and Basilio are astonished and mystified; Figaro laughs quietly at them. Initially, Bartolo is suspicious, but does allow Almaviva to enter when the Count gives him Rosina's letter. He describes his plan to discredit Lindoro whom he believes to be one of the Count's servants, intent on pursuing women for his master. While Almaviva pretends to give Rosina her singing lesson, Figaro arrives to shave Bartolo. Bartolo demurs, but Figaro makes such a scene he agrees, but in order not to leave the supposed music master alone with Rosina, the doctor has Figaro shave him right there in the music room. When Basilio suddenly appears, he is bribed by a full purse from Almaviva and persuaded to leave again, with much discussion of how ill he looks. Figaro begins to shave Bartolo, but Bartolo overhears the lovers conspiring, and angrily drives everybody away. The scene returns to th
