The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) was written by Giocchino Rossini (1792-1868) in 1816. The two-act comic opera is considered one of the greatest opera buffas ever written, and it remains a popular masterpiece staged frequently today, despite its disastrous February 20, 1816, premiere at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. The libretto by Cesare Sterbini is based on a three-part series of French comedic plays under the same name by Pierre Beaumarchais, and other composers also borrowed from the source, including Mozart for his Marriage of Figaro, although that opera was based on the second comedy in the series. Rossini’s The Barber of Seville uses the first comedy as its source, showing the exploits that Count Almaviva engages in to convince Rosina to love and marry him before her ward Bartolo marries her first, with the barber Figaro conniving to help Almaviva the entire time. In Act I, Dr. Bartolo seeks the advice of his servant and Rosina’s music teacher, Don Basilio, for a way to remove Count Almaviva. In the well-known aria La Calunnia, Basilio suggests that they start rumor to slander Almaviva. Instrumentation: 1.1.2.1: 2.2.0.0: Timp.Perc(1): Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Bass (aria). This version is in D, the original key. Also available from the publisher in C.
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