Reflexiones para una nueva interpretación de "Il barbiere di Siviglia" de Rossini (y de Manuel García)

Abstract

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is said to be a work in which an astute barber (Figaro) manages to get the Count of Almaviva and Rosina to marry, to the disgrace of the old Bartolo.This article argues that during Carnival 1816, Rossini and his librettist, Cesare Sterbini, probably had a different story in mind, in which in act one the sloppy barber tries to help the Count, but creates such serious problems that the powerful Count has to take charge of the plot in act two and lead the ending. This hypothesis is based on significant differences between the libretto and its main source, Beaumarchais’s Le barbier de Séville, while Manuel García’s Il Califfo di Bagdad (1813) is cited as another source for the first time.This study maintains that The Barber of Seville was composed to fit García, not only from a vocal point of view, but also from the acting point of view, as latter liked at best irascible, powerful and determinated character. Figaro, however, takes his revenge through music, as the audience always considered his part as the most successful and entertain part their own, and in the end, thas is what is most important in a comic opera.