In The Barber of Seville, love finds its way through disguises, letters and unexpected turns. From the opening serenade to the larger ensembles, Rossini brings the characters’ competing desires together in a comedy whose music keeps the drama moving. i Work Information Composer: Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) Title: The Barber of Seville — Il barbiere di Siviglia Original title: Almaviva, o sia L’inutile precauzione — Almaviva, or The Useless Precaution Year of composition: 1816 Libretto: Cesare Sterbini, after Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’s comedy Le Barbier de Séville Premiere: 20 February 1816, Teatro Argentina, Rome Genre: Italian comic opera in two acts; opera buffa, described as a dramma comico in the first libretto Language: Italian Musical context: Early nineteenth-century Italian bel canto, with strong continuities from eighteenth-century comic opera Structure: An orchestral overture and 18 numbered musical sections across two acts, linked by recitat...