Opera by Gioachino Rossini
Libretto by Cesare Sterbini

First act

In front of the house of the renowned Doctor Bartolo in Seville, the guardian of the beautiful Rosina, musicians gather. Hidden in the shadows of the night, the lovestruck Count Almaviva serenades her beneath her window.
The lovely Rosina appears for a moment on the balcony, but behind her stands Bartolo, keeping a watchful eye on her. Still, she manages to secretly drop a letter to her suitor, asking him to reveal his identity. He introduces himself under the false name Lindoro. The Count hopes to win Rosina’s love for who he truly is, not for his noble title or wealth. Rosina is forced to retreat inside.

The clever and resourceful barber Figaro appears, an old friend of the Count. The Count confides in him about his reason for being in Seville, promises him a generous reward, and asks for his help in seeing his beloved once again. Figaro immediately devises a plan: the Count should disguise himself as a soldier and enter Bartolo’s house under the pretense of seeking lodging. Moreover, he must pretend to be drunk to create additional confusion.

Second act

In Bartolo’s house, Rosina writes a letter to her Lindoro. She is confident that, with her ingenuity and cunning, she will find a way to meet her beloved.

Rosina’s music teacher, the deceitful and scheming Don Basilio, arrives. Bartolo confides in him his intention to marry Rosina the very next day. However, Don Basilio dampens his enthusiasm by informing him that the renowned charmer, Count Almaviva, has arrived in Seville. To protect themselves from him, Basilio suggests spreading a slanderous rumor against the Count. He convinces his friend of the unstoppable and devastating power of slander.

However, Figaro has overheard their conversation and warns Rosina about the devious plan they are plotting. She hands him the letter she has long prepared for Lindoro.

The Count Almaviva bursts into the house, disguised in a cavalry uniform. Following Figaro's advice, he ignores Bartolo's powerless protests that no one has the right to be lodged in his house. Pretending to be drunk, making noise, and causing a real commotion, the Count manages to secretly pass a letter to Rosina in the ensuing chaos. Meanwhile, in response to the disturbance, soldiers from the town guard arrive. The officer leading them attempts to arrest the drunken man, but the Count presents a document, and to everyone’s surprise, the officer respectfully salutes and steps aside.

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) was born on the remarkable date of February 29th into a family of musicians. His father was a horn player, and his mother was an opera singer. From an early age, he showed his great musical talent, becoming the youngest member of their traveling opera troupe. He was tempted by and had the opportunity to try playing various instruments, composing melodies, and improvising – everything felt like a child’s game. Just as his brilliant compositions sound. Very young, at the age of 12 to 14 (1806), he began working with the troupe as a pianist and conductor. Showing all his musical talents, Gioachino Rossini soon entered a music conservatory. He graduated when he turned 18, in 1810.

In 1815, Rossini abandoned the life of a traveling artist and accepted an offer from the director of the "San Carlo" opera house in Naples, where he became composer and conductor. For this theater, he composed Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra, and for the Roman "Vale" theater, he wrote the opera Torvaldo e Dorliska. It was in Rome that he accepted the proposal of Duke Sforza-Cesarini to compose an opera for the "Argentina" theater, which was owned by the Duke. The opera was to be ready for the opening of the carnival in February. With only a month left before the deadline, Rossini chose Pierre Beaumarchais' play The Barber of Seville (1732–1799) as the basis for the libretto. The librettist Cesare Sterbini (1784–1831), who had also written the text for Torvaldo e Dorliska, significantly revised Beaumarchais’ comedy and created a libretto that proved truly successful for the comic opera genre.

It is said that Rossini composed The Barber of Seville in just 12 days. A long-standing tradition, dating back to the Baroque period, allowed composers to freely quote musical themes from other colleagues. Often, composers would also quote from their own previous works. Rossini followed these traditions, and for his comic opera, he used music from some of his earlier compositions. The overture of The Barber of Seville can be found in the opera Aureliano in Palmira (1813), and it was also used in Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra, from which comes the music for the famous and beloved aria of Rosina.

Originally, Rossini's work was titled Almaviva or The Useless Precaution. The composer himself conducted the premiere performance on February 20, 1816, at the "Argentina" theater in Rome.