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The
Barber of Seville
by
Gioacchino Rossini
Libretto by
Cesare
Sterbini
Based on Le Barbier de Séville
and Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais
Sung in
Italian with English
supertitles
Synopsis
February 12 - 27, 2011
All performances start at 8 p.m.
except for Sunday matinees which start
at 3 p.m.
Free pre-performance talks
(Click here for information)
Click here for ticket ordering information |
Photo by
Chris Ayers
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She's a winner: young, pretty, and resourceful. Against all odds,
plucky Rosina succeeds in securing love and
happiness. She's an orphan - the ward of a silly codger who is
plotting to marry her for her substantial dowry. And
she lives in 17th-century Seville - a time and place not known for
its kindliness toward women. But Rosina has
two things on her side: Figaro, a wily jack-of-all trades, is her
conniving accomplice, and her devoted young lover
is actually a powerful, wealthy count instead of the poor student
he pretends to be. (Later, in The Marriage of
Figaro, Count Almaviva will let his high station go to his head
until he is taught a lesson in humanity. For now, the
ardent young man makes the most of his blessings only to win his
true love.)
The Barber of
Seville is fast and furious and fun, full of effervescent music
and never-ending wit. It made Rossini
world famous and has become the most popular Italian comic opera
of all time, a tuneful testament to all that's
wonderful about the buffoonery in opera buffa.
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