Le Barbier de Séville
Encyclopedia
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....
, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron
Antoine-Laurent Baudron
Antoine-Laurent Baudron, born 1742, Amiens, died 1834, Paris, was a French musician and composer. He was the head violinist in the orchestra of the Comédie Française, and wrote the original music for The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais...
. It was initially conceived as a comic opera, and was rejected as such in 1772 by the Comédie-Italienne
Comédie-Italienne
Over time, there have been several buildings and several theatrical companies named the "Théâtre-Italien" or the "Comédie-Italienne" in Paris. Following the times, the theatre has shown both plays and operas...
. The play as it is now known was written in 1773, but, due to legal and political problems of the author, it was not performed until February 23, 1775, at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
in the Tuileries
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
. It is the first play in a trilogy of which the other constituents are The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
The Marriage of Figaro ) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. The Barber begins the story with a simple love triangle in which the Count has...
, and The Guilty Mother
The Guilty Mother
The Guilty Mother subtitled The Other Tartuffe is the third play of the Figaro Trilogy by Pierre Beaumarchais; the first two plays of the trilogy are The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. It is rarely revived these days...
.
Though the play was poorly received at first, Beaumarchais worked some fast editing of the script, turning it into a roaring success after three days. The play's title might be a pun on Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
's earlier play El Burlador de Sevilla (The Trickster of Seville). Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
wrote a set of variations on one of its songs, "Je suis Lindor".
Summary
The story follows a traditional Commedia dell'arteCommedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
structure, with many characters seemingly based on famous stock characters. The plot involves a Spanish count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
, called simply The Count although "Almaviva" appears as an additional name (whether it's a given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
or a surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
is not clear), who has fallen in love at first sight
Love at first sight
Love at first sight is a common trope in Western literature, in which a person, character, or speaker feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them...
with a girl called Rosine. To ensure that she really loves him and not just his money, the Count disguises himself as a poor college student named Lindor, and attempts to woo her. His plans are foiled by Rosine's guardian Doctor Bartholo, who keeps her locked up in his house and intends to marry her himself. The Count's luck changes, however, after a chance reunion with an ex-servant of his, Figaro, who is currently working as a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
and therefore has access to the Doctor's home. After being promised money, and afraid the Count will seek revenge on him if he refuses, Figaro devises a variety of ways for the Count and Rosine to meet and talk, first as Lindor, then as Alonzo, a fellow student of the same music master, Bazile. The story culminates in the marriage of the Count and Rosine.
Characters
- Count Almaviva, a SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
grandee, in love with Rosine - Figaro, barber of Seville
- Rosine, a young lady of noble birth, ward of Bartholo
- Bartholo, physician and Rosine's guardian
- Bazile, organistOrganistAn organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and music master to Rosine - Wakeful (L'Éveillée), servant of Bartholo, a dull sleepy boy
- Youthful (La Jeunesse), an elderly servant of Bartholo
- A notary
- An alcalde
- Alguacils and servants
Act 1
Scene: the street in front of Dr. Bartholo's house in Seville. The Count, disguised as a poor university student, waits in hope of catching a glimpse of Rosine, whom he encountered in Madrid and has followed to Seville. To this point they have never spoken to each other. Figaro happens to come down the street, singing a song ("Bannissons le chagrin"); he and the Count recognize each other. While the two men talk, Dr. Bartholo and Rosine come to a window of the house. Rosine pretends to drop a piece of sheet music from her window inadvertently. While the doctor is coming down the stairs to retrieve it, Rosine instructs the Count to pick up the sheet himself. He does, and finds a note from Rosine hidden inside it; the note asks that he explain who he is and why he has followed her to Seville, by way of singing his answer to the tune of the song. Figaro advises the Count that Rosine is the ward of Dr. Bartholo, and adds that as he is the doctor's barber and apothecary, he has frequent occasion to visit the house. He proposes a plan to smuggle the Count into the house by disguising him as a drunken soldier in need of lodging.The two are interrupted when they overhear Dr. Bartholo making plans to secretly marry Rosine during the night, before he leaves to see his friend Bazile, who is to make the arrangements. Afterwards, the Count sings to Rosine ("Vous l'ordonnez, je me ferai connaître... Je suis Lindor"), introducing himself as a poor man named Lindor who is in love with her. From inside the house, Rosine sings a verse to the tune of Maître en droit, requiting his affections, before she is caught by someone else inside and is forced to retreat. Figaro and the Count go their separate ways, agreeing to meet again to put their plan in action.
Act 2
In Dr. Bartolo's house, Rosine writes a note to "Lindor". When Figaro drops in, she asks if he will deliver the note. Figaro agrees. The moment he steps out, Dr. Bartholo comes in, complaining that Figaro has given incapacitating medical treatments to all the servants. He notices ink stains on Rosine's fingers; suspicious, he demands to know what she wrote. When she continues to deny writing anything, he accuses Figaro of having seduced her. Rosine leaves. Figaro is shown to be hiding in a cabinet. He listens as Bartholo and Bazile discuss the inquiries Count Almaviva has been making all over town about Rosine. They hatch a plan to spread malicious gossip about the Count so that if he ever should find her, she will be too disgusted with him to want to form a relationship.They leave. Figaro goes to Rosine and warns her that Bartholo plans to force her to marry him before morning. At this point the Count enters disguised as an inebriated soldier, and sings a song to the tune of "Vive le vin". He presents a forged lodging billet. The doctor explains he is exempt from the law that requires people to lodge soldiers. When he goes to find the paperwork which certifies this, the Count slips a note to Rosine. The doctor returns and sends the Count away. He sees Rosine with the note and demands she show it to him; but she is able to switch it with an innocent letter that extinguishes Bartholo's fears. Rosine reads the actual note, which contains instructions for her to start a fight with Bartholo.
Act 3
The Count comes to the house again, disguised this time as a teacher. He tells Bartholo that Bazile is sick and has sent him as a substitute to give Rosine her music lesson for the day. Rosine enters pretending to be quite angry, having chosen the music lesson as an excuse to pick a fight with Bartholo. She recognizes the Count ("Lindor") and becomes calm. The Count accompanies Rosine on the piano as she sings ("Quand, dans la plaine"). Lulled by the music, Bartholo keeps falling asleep; each time he does so the Count begins kissing Rosine, the music stops and the Doctor wakes up, forcing Rosine and the Count to scurry back to their music, and the lazzoLazzi
Lazzi is an improvised comic dialogue or action commonly used in the Commedia dell'arte. Most English-speaking troupes use the Italian plural "lazzi" as the singular and "lazzis" for the plural....
repeats. After the lesson, the doctor sings his own song to Rosine ("Veux-tu, ma Rosinette"). Figaro arrives and tries to distract Dr. Bartholo by shaving him so that Rosine and the Count will be alone together, but Bartholo catches on, especially when Bazile arrives to give Rosine her music lesson. The Count discreetly hands Bazile a bag of money
Money bag
A money bag is a bag of money used to hold and transport coins and banknotes from/to a mint, bank, ATM, milled, business, or other institution...
, bribing him to play along, and they are able to settle the doctor's fears once more. The Count tells Rosine he will return at night to visit.
Act 4
The stage is dark and music suggesting a lightning storm is played. Bazile admits to Bartholo what happened earlier in the day, and speculates that the man in the house may have been the Count. He advises against Bartholo's plan to force a marriage with Rosine, but Bartholo takes no heed. Rosine then comes out, looking for the Count; Bartholo goes to her and tells her that the man in the house was working for a notorious womanizing count named Almaviva, who plans to have his agents kidnap her. Rosine believes this story and becomes outraged. She agrees to marry Bartholo, and he goes out to find a judge to perform the marriage ceremony. Rosine runs to lock herself in Marceline's room to avoid the impending abduction she expects.Figaro and the Count break into the house, discussing the Count's plan to propose marriage to Rosine, and worrying about how to break the news that he is really a count. Rosine comes back out to yell at him, and tell him she knows all about his horrible scheme to kidnap her: however, she notices that Figaro keeps addressing him as "my lord" and inquires as to the reason. The Count then reveals his true identity, and Rosine forgives him. The Judge enters, and the Count takes him and has him draw up a marriage contract between himself and Rosine. Bartholo comes in just a moment after it is signed, and after making some futile arguments against the contract's validity, resigns himself. As a consolation he is given Rosine's dowry money to keep.
The Operas
Giovanni PaisielloGiovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and...
's opera
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello)
Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile is a comic opera by Giovanni Paisiello from a libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini, even though his name is not identified on the score's title page....
based on the play was first performed in 1782, but it is Gioachino Rossini's opera, The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
, premiered in 1816, that has better stood the test of time. Other lesser-known adaptions include those by Nicolas Isouard
Nicolas Isouard
Nicolas Isouard was a Maltese composer.Isouard studied in Valletta with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St...
in 1796, Alexander Reinagle
Alexander Reinagle
Alexander Robert Reinagle was an English-born American composer, organist, and theater musician...
and Samuel Arnold
Samuel Arnold (composer)
Samuel Arnold was an English composer and organist.Arnold was born in London , and began writing music for the theatre in about 1764. A few years later he became director of music at the Marylebone Gardens, for which much of his popular music was written...
in 1794, and Francesco Morlacchi
Francesco Morlacchi
Francesco Morlacchi was an Italian composer of more than twenty operas. During the many years he spent as the royal Royal Kapellmeister in Dresden, he was instrumental in popularizing the Italian style of opera.-Biography:...
in 1816.
The character of Figaro
Figaro is inspired by the Commedia dell'arteCommedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
character of Brighella
Brighella
Brighella is a comic, masked character from the Commedia dell'arte. His early costume consisted of loosely-fitting, white smock and pants with green trim and was often equipped with a battachio or slapstick, or else with a wooden sword. Later he took to wearing a sort of livery with a matching cape...
, and like his predecessor he is a clever liar; moral and yet unscrupulous; good humored, helpful and brave, though somewhat embittered and cynical. As he says in The Barber of Seville: "I must force myself to laugh at everything lest I be obliged to weep." Though he is normally calm, collected and intelligent, he can be irrational when angered.
The name 'Figaro' was invented by Beaumarchais for this character, and it has been theorized by Frédéric Grendel that it is made from a phonetic transcription of the words "fils Caron" (Caron
Caron
A caron or háček , also known as a wedge, inverted circumflex, inverted hat, is a diacritic placed over certain letters to indicate present or historical palatalization, iotation, or postalveolar pronunciation in the orthography of some Baltic, Slavic, Finno-Lappic, and other languages.It looks...
having been the given surname of the playwright.)
The role was created in The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais's friend Preville. However, when The Marriage of Figaro went into production almost a decade later, he felt himself too old to repeat the part and turned it over to fellow actor Jean Dazincourt.
According to the information Figaro gives at various points throughout the plays, his life story appears to be thus: he was the illegitimate son of Dr. Bartholo and his maid Marceline, and presumably therefore given his mother's family name, was born Emmanuel de Verte-Allure (he is referred as "Rafaello" by Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte....
in his libretto for Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
´s Le Nozze di Figaro). He was kidnapped as a baby and raised by gypsies, who are probably the ones that re-named him Figaro. After he grew "disgusted with their ways" he left to become a surgeon, and apparently took up a short-term job in the household of Count Almaviva during this time to support himself (Lorenzo da Ponte in "Le nozze di Figaro" might have elaborated from this that at some point Figaro borrowed money from Marceline and signed a promissory note
Promissory note
A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other , either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms.Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or...
to either repay or marry her). Though the Count referred to him as a "rather bad servant," he was pleased enough with Figaro to write him a recommendation to the Bureau in Madrid, where he was given a job as an assistant veterinary surgeon, much to his disappointment. While working there, he began dabbling in a literary career, apparently with great success. He was fired from the Bureau but stayed on in Madrid for a time trying to work as a publisher and playwright. He angered the censors with several of his works, and was briefly imprisoned. Eventually he gave up writing, and set himself up as a barber surgeon
Barber surgeon
The barber surgeon was one of the most common medical practitioners of medieval Europe - generally charged with looking after soldiers during or after a battle...
. After "pensively proceeding through the two Castilles
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
, la Mancha
La Mancha
La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...
, Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
, the Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
, and Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
" he set up shop in Seville, where he became reacquainted with Count Almaviva, and after assisting him with some romantic troubles, was hired as the Count's personal valet. He evidently retains this position for the remainder of his life. It is after he returns to work for the Count that he marries Suzanne, though at what point he met her is unclear. Given that Suzanne's uncle Antonio works for the Count, it seems likely she was hired on his recommendation when the Countess moved into the palace and a maid was needed for her, in which case she and Figaro would have met after the events of The Barber of Seville. William M. Hoffman
William M. Hoffman
William Moses Hoffman is an American playwright, editor and educator.- Biography :Born in New York City, New York, United States, Hoffman's earliest works either were mounted in small, experimental off-off-Broadway theaters in New York City or remain unproduced.It was not until 1985 that he...
, in his own version of the Figaro myth in John Corigliano
John Corigliano
John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
´s The Ghosts of Versailles
The Ghosts of Versailles
The Ghosts of Versailles is an opera in two acts, with music by John Corigliano to an English libretto by William M. Hoffman. The Metropolitan Opera had commissioned the work from Corigliano in 1980 in celebration of its 100th anniversary, with the premiere scheduled for 1983...
(which borrows from La mère coupable), has him taking part in the French Revolution, refusing to help Almaviva's plan to free the Queen
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
from her impending fate at the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
.
In The Barber of Seville, Rosine claims that Figaro has a daughter (in Gioachino Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
" she is identified as Marcellina), but since this is never mentioned again by any other characters or in the other plays, and since it comes up during a lie Rosine tells to conceal her relationship with the Count, it is probable that she made this up. In The Guilty Mother, the children of the Count and Countess are named, but no offspring from Figaro or Suzanne are referenced which suggests they remain childless. William M. Hoffman
William M. Hoffman
William Moses Hoffman is an American playwright, editor and educator.- Biography :Born in New York City, New York, United States, Hoffman's earliest works either were mounted in small, experimental off-off-Broadway theaters in New York City or remain unproduced.It was not until 1985 that he...
, in The Ghosts of Versailles
The Ghosts of Versailles
The Ghosts of Versailles is an opera in two acts, with music by John Corigliano to an English libretto by William M. Hoffman. The Metropolitan Opera had commissioned the work from Corigliano in 1980 in celebration of its 100th anniversary, with the premiere scheduled for 1983...
has Figaro refusing to recognize an illegitimate child.
Sources
- The Figaro Trilogy: a new translation by David Coward, Oxford World's Classics
- The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, Penguin Classics
- The Italian Comedy, Dover
- Opera and the Enlightenment, Cambridge University Press