THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

In Europe, the story of the jack-of-all-trades barber has historical roots: from the Middle Ages through the reforms of the Napoleonic era, medicine was considered a theoretical discipline, and surgery, a craft. Physicians diagnosed by observation and knowledge of ancient Latin and Greek texts while surgeons worked with their hands, stitching wounds and treating abscesses. With the Roman Catholic Church’s prohibition in 1215 on educated clergy performing surgical procedures, this role was left to those already skilled in handling sharp blades: barbers.  

Between 1775-1792, the French playwright Beaumarchais produced a trilogy combining the barber-surgeon with the well-known character of the commedia dell’arte, Brighella, the cunning servant who helps his master outwit the old doctor. To evade French censorship, Beaumarchais set the story in Spain, also considered an ideal location to reflect the story’s heightened passions. The censors’ concerns were well founded: only five years after the premiere of The Marriage of Figaro (the politically charged second play in Beaumarchais’s trilogy), revolution broke out in France. 

Many of us, however, were first introduced to Figaro through The Rabbit of Seville, a 1950s Looney Tunes classic featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Like the opera, this adaptation centers on a contest of wills—and comedy timed perfectly to music. The opera also uses the lazzi (practical jokes and verbal gags) of the commedia tradition such as the Disguise, Love Letter, and Tooth Extraction routines. In Calgary Opera’s production, zany and colourful costumes reinforce the light-hearted story, emphasize character traits, and reflect Spanish influences which also appear in dance elements of flamenco and the sevillana. 

Gioachino Rossini, only 24 years old at the time, wrote the music in under three weeks, reusing the overture from his serious opera Aureliano in Palmira, which fit Barber like a glove. Although the story had already been set to music by other composers, Rossini intensified the drama by embedding the meaning of the words into the music, such as the orchestral murmur of the Don Basilio’s breeze of slander, and the sharp contrasts of Rosina’s sweet and fiery sides. He extended the volume and pacing of musical climaxes, like in the dramatic Act I finale (a technique which Broadway composers use to this day to keep audiences buzzing during intermission), and his soaring melodies, rapid-fire patter songs, and sparkling dances laid the foundation for Bel Canto composers Bellini and Donizetti who followed him. 

A diligent student and admirer of the operas of Mozart, Rossini composed in the generation immediately following the Enlightenment. The same artistic values endure in The Barber of Seville: love emerges where truth prevails. 

Continue the discussion before and after the performance by exploring resources such as these: 

Opera 101: The History of Comedy in The Barber of Seville | Watch here 

Music historian Stephan Bonfield traces the history of comedy through the creation of the opera, intertwined with biographical details of the composer and socio-historical insights. 

San Diego OperaTalk! The Barber of Seville | Watch here 

San Diego Opera’s longtime director of Education and Community Engagement shares the history of the opera along with musical highlights, critical acclaim, recommended recordings, and more in this 30-minute featurette.  

When Barbers Were Surgeons | Read here 

Referencing academic sources, this fascinating read uncovers the wild history of barber-surgeons in the Middle Ages through to the early modern era, as well as the lasting effects of medical reform on how physicians and surgeons treat patients. 

Perspectives: The Barber of Seville | Read here 

Psychoanalyst and historian Gerald N. Izenberg offers insights into the subtler nuances of historical context, musical insights, and the psychology of the characters and composer himself. 

The Barber of Seville | Watch here 

A beautiful production (a traditional interpretation, but with some staging innovations) of Gioachino Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville sung in the original Italian with English subtitles.  

The Barber of Seville | Watch here 

Another classic production with an all-star cast, although without English subtitles. An English translation of the full text of the opera is available here.