He presents the strange spectacle of a successful composer of opera, who lived to be seventy-six, abruptly closing his dramatic career at thirty-seven.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
Opera in two acts, by Rossini; text by Cesare Sterbini, founded on Beaumarchais. Produced, Argentina Theatre, Rome, February 5, 1816; London, King's Theatre, March 10, 1818. Paris, in Italian, 1819; in French, 1824. New York, in English, at the Park Theatre, May 3, 1819, with Thomas Phillipps and Miss Leesugg, as Almaviva and Rosina; in Italian, at the Park Theatre, November 29, 1825, with Manuel Garcia, the elder, as Almaviva; Manuel Garcia, the younger, Figaro; Signorina Garcia (afterwards the famous Malibran), Rosina; Signor Rosick, Dr. Bartolo; Signor Angrisani, Don Basilio; Signor Crivelli, the younger, Fiorello, and Signora Garcia, mère, Berta. (See [concluding paragraphs] of this article.) Adelina Patti, Melba, Sembrich, Tetrazzini are among the prima donnas who have been familiar to opera lovers in this country as Rosina. Galli-Curci appeared in this rôle in Chicago, January 1, 1917.
Characters
| Count Almaviva | Tenor |
| Doctor Bartolo | Bass |
| Basilio, a Singing Teacher | Bass |
| Figaro, a Barber | Baritone |
| Fiorello, servant to the Count | Bass |
| Ambrosio, servant to the Doctor | Bass |
| Rosina, the Doctor's ward | Soprano |
| Berta (or Marcellina), Rosina's Governess | Soprano |
Notary, Constable, Musicians and Soldiers.
Time—Seventeenth Century.
Place—Seville, Spain.
Upon episodes in Beaumarchais's trilogy of "Figaro" comedies two composers, Mozart and Rossini, based operas that have long maintained their hold upon the repertoire. The three Beaumarchais comedies are "Le Barbier de Séville," "Le Mariage de Figaro," and "La Mère Coupable." Mozart selected the second of these, Rossini the first; so that although in point of composition Mozart's "Figaro" (May, 1786) antedates Rossini's "Barbiere" (February, 1816) by nearly thirty years, "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" precedes "Le Nozze di Figaro" in point of action. In both operas Figaro is a prominent character, and, while the composers were of wholly different nationality and race, their music is genuinely and equally sparkling and witty. To attempt to decide between them by the flip of a coin would be "heads I win, tails you lose."