V’nai Vazquez

The Barber of Seville

Gioachino Antonio Rossini

February 20, 1816

Barber of Seville is an operatic comedy I hope you come to adore it as much as I did while writing this paper. Not only did the writer take a dramatic and at times sad play and turn it into loud over the top comedy, he did it so well it is today even more popular than the original. It is still played across the country on the big and small stage. If anyone is able to write something that is popular for hundreds of years that speaks not only to the talent but to the work as a whole. Barber of Seville by Gioachino Antonio Rossini ought to be preserved because it was the first ever operatic comedy and it paved the way for the future of humor on stage in this form.<!--more-->[youtube]<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8K0xQOMHuU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8K0xQOMHuU</a>[/youtube]
<div> It  “was based on a famous play by Beaumarchais and.. Paisiello [who] had already made a successful opera from the story” (Glimmerglass). The story is about Count Almaviva who fell in love with Rosina. He wanted her to love him for his personality and not all his wealth, so he disguised himself as a poor student. Rosina is supposed to marry a Doctor Bartolo, who’s house  she is currently living. Almaviva comes up with a few schemes to attempt to enter Bartolo’s house, because he thinks the only way he can get Rosina to fall in love with him too is by talking with her. Eventually one of his ploys work with the help of Figaro, who is Bartolo’s barber, he gets to talk to Almaviva and they decide to elope. A number of other antics occur in a frantic procession, with much confusion for all parties. Eventually Bartolo, even though he is not sure what is going on, decides to fetch the policy to arrest Almaviva, but by they time he arrives with them in tow Almaviva and Rosina are already married. He blesses them and wishes them a good wedding (Glimmerglass).</div>
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At the time Barber of Seville was written was during the Romantic era, the hero and the heroine were the center of many art pieces and musical pieces, those pieces also played off of emotion as the driving forces of their subjects. During this era Romantics embraced the creative side of a person, especially those that were the hero of the story. The hero was typically one that stood up against the norm, who had ideas of ways to better society and challenge what has always been. The Romantic era didn’t actually have more heroes than had been before, but there were much more celebrated than ever. Obviously the hero must have someone to love, someone to fight for. Love was the base countless art forms of the time. Individuality was also celebrated as a factor of love. The artists of the time chose to separate themselves from the church , but also defend liberty, they believed in personal freedom and freedom from the institution.

Opera brought together many types of art forms (the bright colors of the costume was somewhat like painting using specific colors to display a character type, the instrumental part of music, as well as the acting and dance). In Germany, Wagner, who was a composer, helped to break the wall between music and theater. Instead of separating these two elements he used the music to enhance the story and bring the audience further into the story. Barber of Seville was a Baroque style of theater, around the time it was performed it was aimed at the middle class folk, as were much of the other operas of the time. Romantic opera was quite a spectacle, bright colors, overly dramatic acting and flourished costumes. Singing was becoming an art form, a style of entertainment, not just worship confined to the church. Those that performed in the opera’s had to have a true talent and ability to be able to sing the “long, winding melodic lines” (Fiero).

The Barber of Seville was typical of it’s era because it was all about the “hero” finding and fighting for true love. Almaviva finds Rosina and he comes up with idea after idea of how he can reach Rosina to tell him how he feels. Almaviva fights through many road blocks because his only goal is to marry her. The music and lyrics of this opera all aligned so perfectly with what was about to explode in other works of it’s time. The music assisted the story’s progression and the lyrics told the story where the normal dialogue paused. Although it was performed in 1816 and this type of work didn’t start occurring until around 1820, it was really a frontman in leading the way for these types of outlandish performances. The amount of vocal ability one needed in order to perform these songs was just the beginning of an entire era of singers who were able to find their voice on stage. Also, it was typical because it was among the first to attract the middle class in droves to the theater. Although Barbiere di Siviglia (1782) had already been popularized by Paisiello, Rossini’s version had a comedic nature which was highly appealing to the middle class audience.

This comical and satirical style of operas is known as<i> opera buffa</i>. Since this style was not yet popularized the first night it did horribly, this could have also been due to the fact that Paisiello’s fans went to the theater it’s opening night and booed during the entirety of the performance (Glimmerglass). The second night and every successive performance following it did increasingly well. This was the kick starter for many other opera buffa to take place. The audience gobbled up the humor and dramatic, frantic performance displayed, they loved the humor. This was unusual for the opera was a place for the wealthy, starting with The Barber of Seville it seems the floodgates for the middle class opened up and they became the predominate class for the audience.

As state previously, this opera on it’s first night did horribly. The actors stuttered through their performance, and although they finished, it was not a pretty sight. Many expected the play would not be performed again. This poor opening is believed to have been caused by fans of Paisiello’s fans, who actually organized the disruption. However, the middle class that saw the play loved it. They really like the upbeat non-stop tempo of the story. Even the songs that burst seemingly from no where kept the audiences attention. The plot of the opera fed into the new Romantic era that was just being introduced as a consistent theme, it was the hero that all were rooting for.

According to Fisher “today it is generally considered the greatest comic masterpiece in the entire operatic canon” (Fisher). It is amazing that two hundreed years later it still remains popular and is still performed by so many around the world. As Fisher says “words evoke thought, but music provokes feelings”, which is a truth that still stands today. Any performance that is accompanied by music is so enhanced to make us feel as though we are riding as a part of the story. In an article written by Christopher Monk just this year praises a performance of The Barber, admiring how it “it’s still as fresh, sparkling and downright hilarious” it is (Monk). The fact that The Barber is still so popular speaks volumes to how well Rossini composed such a thrilling story.

Personally I find the play to be a spectacular work. I think it is different than many of the romantic comedies we have all become accustomed to. Although it is love at first sight for Almaviva, leading him into many odd circumstances preventing him from confessing his love, it is so much more than that. The amount of talent those that not only performed the parts, but the vocal strength they needed to make the opera convincing is outstanding. This is not just a play that can be entertaining for young kids, but people of all ages can find the humor in the play at the same time enthralled by the talent of those performing.

During around the same Romantic time ballets also gained popularity. As a comparison to “The Barber of Seville” I will use “Sleeping Beauty”. The Barber of Seville is an opera and Sleeping Beauty is a play. The main character of The Barber is a man and his desire to express his love so the woman of his dreams would marry him. The main character of Sleeping Beauty is a woman who is being pursued by the hero of the story. The Barber is a comedy which has a happy ending, based on the Romantic idea of love fulfilled. Sleeping Beauty is more of a tragedy with Beauty dying before love is exchanged, this points toward the Romantic idea of unrequited love. Both are intriguing and well written plots with exceptional talent needed to truly show off the talent of their writers. (Fiero).

Future generations should be aware that this was truly the mark of the beginning of an era of comedy in general. If it were not for this play taking something that was a serious piece and transforming it into the ever popular work it is today, we may never had come into the type of comedy we are used to today. The satirical and comedic driving force of our current times can thank The Barber of Seville for leading the way. This should certainly be preserved because it is not only a wonderful form of entertainment, but it carries historical value along with it.

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Fiero, Gloria K. “The Humanistic Tradition.” McGraw Hill. 6th edition. 2013. Web. 24 Oct, 2013.

This is the text book used for class. I used this for comparison of a different type of work of the time The Barber was written. I also used it for historical context.

Fisher, Burton D. “Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.” <i>eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)</i>. 2002. Web. Oct 23 2013.

This is an eBook that had the play within it, but also had an insightful prelude and commentary about the play. I used this to write on the current as well as past popularity of the play.

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“Giovanni Paisiello (Italian composer)”. <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i>. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.  2013. Web. Oct 22, 2013.

This is a short article about the life of Paisiello. I used this to find out where The Barber of Seville first gained popularity as well as how this affected Paisiello.

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Glimmerglass Opera. “Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’.” <i>NPRMusic</i>. NPR. 15 Aug 2008. Web. 23 Oct 2013.

This is an article that gives a summary and a brief history of the opera. This was probably one of the more beneficial articles, that I used to write my own summary and understand the background of the opera.

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Monk, Christopher. “The Barber of Seville.” <i>Musical Opinion</i>. English National Opera. 1 May 2013. Web. 24 Oct, 2013.

This was a review for a recent performance of the opera. I used it to provide evidence of the popularity of the play even today.

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