Rossini

Il barbiere di Siviglia

16 May – 3 July

Quick-witted comedy and sparkling romance take centre stage in a show full of Spanish colour and warmth.

When Rosina teams up with cunning Figaro and amorous Count Almaviva to escape Dr Bartolo’s clutches, a hilarious battle of wills ensues. This is an evening of sharp humour and unexpected twists, all set to Rossini’s glittering score.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles.


Creative team

Conductor
Rory Macdonald

Director
Annabel Arden

Designer
Joanna Parker

Movement Director
Toby Sedgwick

Lighting Designer
James Farncombe

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Cast includes

Rosina
Cecilia Molinari

Figaro
Germán Olvera

Count Almaviva
Jonah Hoskins

Dr Bartolo
Fabio Capitanucci

The edition of Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) used in these performances is published by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel, edited by Patricia B. Brauner. Performed by arrangement with Faber Music, London.

Photos

Photos: Bill Cooper

Synopsis

Act I

Outside Dr Bartolo’s house, Count Almaviva arrives disguised as Lindoro, an impoverished student, to serenade and win Rosina, who is confined indoors. The Count hopes that Rosina will love him for himself and not for his wealth and status. Figaro, the town barber, jack-of-all-trades and busybody, arrives and tells the Count that Rosina is not Bartolo’s daughter but his ward and that Bartolo himself plans to marry her. Figaro suggests that the Count gain entrance to Bartolo’s house by disguising himself as a soldier with orders to lodge there.

Rosina, alone, reflects on her love for Lindoro and her plans for outwitting Bartolo in order to marry her young suitor, and warns that she can be formidable when crossed. As she leaves, Bartolo arrives with Basilio, Rosina’s music teacher, who warns Bartolo of Count Almaviva’s interest in Rosina. Basilio advises Bartolo to discredit the Count by spreading slander about him, and Bartolo resolves to marry Rosina immediately. Figaro, who has overheard them, encourages Rosina to write a letter to Lindoro, which he will deliver.

The Count enters in the guise of a drunken soldier, demands lodging, and stealthily passes a note to Rosina. Bartolo claims exemption from quartering soldiers. Figaro appears, reporting that all of the hubbub has drawn a crowd outside the house. The police arrive to arrest the rowdy ‘soldier,’ but the disguised Count secretly reveals his true identity to their captain and is immediately released. Everyone – except Figaro – is flabbergasted by the events.

Synopsis

Act II

Count Almaviva turns up at Bartolo’s house again, now disguised as ‘Don Alonso’, a student of Basilio’s come to substitute for the purportedly ailing music teacher. ‘Don Alonso’ tells Bartolo that he has found a letter from Rosina at the inn where both he and Count Almaviva are staying, and he offers to aid in Bartolo’s plot. Now convinced that ‘Don Alonso’ is indeed a student of the scheming Basilio, Bartolo lets him enter to give Rosina her music lesson. As Bartolo snoozes, Rosina and her ‘Lindoro’ (the double-disguised Count) proclaim their love.

Figaro arrives to give Bartolo a shave and succeeds in secretly pocketing the key to Rosina’s balcony. When Basilio suddenly appears, Figaro, the Count and Rosina bribe him to feign sickness and go home. While Figaro shaves Bartolo, Rosina and the Count plot their elopement, but Bartolo overhears and chases everyone away. Bartolo instructs Basilio to summon a notary to marry him to Rosina that evening. Bartolo then shows Rosina the very letter she wrote to ‘Lindoro’, ostensibly proving that her suitor is really just a procurer for Count Almaviva. Rosina, crestfallen, agrees to marry Bartolo.

After a thunderstorm rages and subsides, Figaro and the Count climb a ladder to Rosina’s balcony and enter her room with the key. Rosina expresses her heartbreak at her apparent betrayal, before the Count reveals his true identity. The lovers wax romantic while Figaro presses them to escape. But when the Count, Rosina and Figaro go to climb down the ladder, they find it missing. Basilio turns up with the notary, and, ceding to bribery and threats, agrees to witness the marriage between the Count and Rosina. The arrival of Bartolo forces a confrontation and then a resolution.


Supported by Mr Frederik Paulsen

Bring world-class opera to the stage

To find out more about production support for Festival 2025 click here
or contact our Director of Development, Helen McCarthy for an informal chat:
call 01273 013308 or email helen.mccarthy@glyndebourne.com


Main image: © Getty Images/Archive Holdings Inc/Image treatment by Melissa Castro Duarte

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