Look, Listen, Learn April 2012

Opera Lafayette Cast:Ryan Brown, conductorNick Olcott, director

Rosina (Jennifer Casey Cabot),a young noble lady and ward of Bartolo

Count Almaviva(Robert Baker), a Count living in Spain, the unknown lover of Rosina

Figaro (James Shaffran),Barber in Seville (jack-of-all-trades)

Dr. Bartolo (Eugene Galvin),a physician and guardian ofRosina

Basilio (Peter Becker),a friend of Bartolo and musicteacher to Rosina

Lo Svegliano, a soldier, andNotaro, a lawyer (Andrew Sauvageau)

Giovinetto, servant of Bartolo, and Alcalde, themayor or judge of a Spanishtown (William Bouvel)

The StoryAct ICount Almaviva, in love with a woman whom hesaw only once in Madrid, has followed her to

Seville and discovered her name. Now he stands, as hedoes every day, outside her house. Unexpectedly, his former servant appears. Figaro, it turns out, has beenknocking about Spain since leaving the Count’s service andis in Seville working as a barber and jack-of-all-trades. TheCount reveals that he is operating under the name “Lindoro,” and the reason becomes clear when Rosina appears at her window, dogged by Dr. Bartolo, whom Lindoro believes to be her husband. She manages to throwa letter down to “Lindoro” and to convince Bartolo that itis merely a piece of sheet music she’s been learning. In theletter, Rosina asks her mysterious suitor to wait for Bartolo’s departure and then to tell her who he is. Figaro is delighted to inform the Count that the old man is notRosina’s husband, but merely her guardian, although onewith designs on marrying her. Figaro, however, as barberand confidante to the household, can be of great help ingaining access to Rosina. After Bartolo’s departure, “Lindoro” reveals himself to Rosina in song, and Figarohatches a plan: the Count should disguise himself as a soldier and obtain a billeting order lodging him at Bartolo’shouse. With just a little money, Figaro assures the Count,he’ll win the woman of his dreams.

Act IIRosina writes “Lindoro” a letter, and when Figaro arrives,she asks him to take it to her suitor. Before Figaro can reveal the impending plan, Bartolo’s return forces a hastyretreat. The guardian catches a glimpse of the barber and,suspecting him of some nefarious plotting, attempts to interrogate his servants about Figaro’s visit. One canhardly stay awake, and the other can’t stop sneezing, soBartolo gets no information and suspects Figaro of havingdrugged the pair. Basilio, a music master who is helpingBartolo ensnare Rosina, arrives with news that Count Almaviva is in Seville in pursuit of Rosina. The only defense against such a foe, according to Basilio, is to slander the Count and make him repulsive in Rosina’s eyes.Basilio leaves, and Bartolo confronts Rosina with his suspicions that she’s written a letter to a lover. Rosina isable to deny every charge and leaves, Bartolo apologizingabjectly for having accused her. The Count then arrives,disguised as a soldier and pretending to be drunk, to de-mand lodging in the house. While Bartolo attempts to finda document exempting him from billeting soldiers, theCount reveals himself as “Lindoro” to Rosina andmanages to give her a letter. Bartolo spots the exchange,however, and expels the supposed soldier fromthe house. He attempts to get the letter from Rosina, butshe switches it for one from her cousin, and Bartolo must

once again beg her forgiveness. Left alone, she reads the letterfrom her suitor and realizes she has missed an opportunity. Herlover’s plan was for Rosina to pick a fight with her guardian, sothe “soldier” could “defend her” and whisk her away to safety.She blames herself for having squandered the chance and won-ders if she will ever again know happiness.

Act IIIThe Count gains entrance to the house in a new disguise: “DonAlonso,” a music teacher substituting for the ailing Don Basilio.To allay Bartolo’s suspicions and to prove himself an apt pupilof his scheming master, “Alonso” gives Bartolo the letter he hasreceived from Rosina. This is proof, he maintains, that Rosina isin touch with the Count and that Figaro is their go-between.Bartolo accepts “Alonso” as a replacement for Basilio and letsRosina take a lesson. She, recognizing her beloved “Lindoro”through the disguise, is happy to sing for him. The two attemptto use the opportunity to make love, despite Bartolo’s repeatedinterruptions, including his insistence on singing a song himself.Figaro arrives to give Bartolo a shave, which will give the loversa chance to plan their midnight elopement. Just as Figaro succeeds in securing the key which will make their escape possible, Don Basilio arrives, not ill at all.“Alonso” convincesBartolo that because Basilio doesn’t know about the letter fromRosina, his presence could spoil the plan to slander the Count.All four therefore bribe Basilio to leave. Figaro manages to distract Bartolo just long enough for the Count to tell Rosinaabout the midnight escape, but before he can explain about giving her letter to Bartolo, the guardian sees “Alonso” beingtoo intimate with Rosina. In the ensuing fight, the Count andFigaro are expelled from the house.

Act IVA storm rages in Seville, and the plotters go about their work.Figaro and the Count seek the best way to get into the house.Bartolo sends Basilio to find the notary to seal his marriage toRosina this very night. As midnight approaches, Rosina waits for“Lindoro,” but Bartolo turns up instead to reveal that he has herletter. He tells her that all her co-conspirators -- Figaro,“Alonso,” and “Lindoro” -- have been working for the Count,whose plan it is to abduct her this night. Feeling betrayed andused, Rosina agrees to marry Bartolo but sends him for reinforcements in case the abductors should arrive armed. Theguardian leaves, and when Figaro and the Count arrive, Rosinaangrily confronts them with their supposed treachery. “Lindoro” is able to straighten it out by revealing that, far fromworking for the Count, he is the Count. When Basilio arriveswith the notary, a few coins are enough to ensure that the marriage is sealed between Rosina and her true love. When Bartolo arrives with the Mayor, it is too late, and the happy couple is already united.

- Pierre de BeaumarchaisAuthor of the play Il Barbiere di Sivigliaon which this opera was basedI quickly laugh at everythi

ng for f

earof h

aving to c

ry.

Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) Paisiello was one of the important composers of18th-century Italian operas. Born 1740 inTaranto, Italy, and educated in Naples, Paisiello’sintermezzi attracted enough notice to be commissioned to write his first comedic operas, La Pupilla (The Pupil), Il Mondo al Rovescio(The World Upside Down), and Il Marchese di Tidipano (The Marquis of Tidipano).

Happily married to Cecilia Pallini in 1772,Paisiello continued writing influential operas aswell as church music, cantatas, oratorios, masses,motets, instrumental works, and a requiem. In1776, Paisiello was invited by Catherine II ofRussia, known as Catherine the Great, to work asher composer and director of the court orchestrain St. Petersburg. He stayed for eight years, producing many musical compositions includinghis masterpiece Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barberof Seville). This opera was the first comic operato attain widespread success and was subsequently staged in sold-out performances inmany parts of Europe including: Madrid, Spain;Warsaw, Poland; Mannheim, Germany; Vienna,Austria; Naples, Italy; Bratislava, Slovakia; Liege,Belgium to name a few.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music notes that“Paisiello was one of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time. Most ofhis over 80 operas are comic and use a simple, direct and spirited style, latterly with sharper characterization, more colorful scoring andwarmer melodies (features that influencedMozart). His serious operas have less than the conventional amount of virtuoso vocal writing;those for Russia are the closest to Gluck’s ‘reform’ approach.”

Guiseppe Petrosellini (1727-1799)Petrosellini was known as an Italian librettist whotended to write comedies of disguise and intrigue. While working for Catherine the Great,Giovanni Paisiello hired Petrosellini to write thelibretto for Il Barbiere di Siviglia based on Catherine’s interest in the Pierre de Beaumarchais play Il Barbiere di Siviglia(The Barber of Seville, 1775).

Even though Paisiello was hesitant to use Petrosellini’s adaptation of the play, in which Petrosellini shortened de Beaumarchais’s four-actplay down to two acts, Catherine was pleasedwith the Paisiello’s opera because she demandedthat productions in her theater last no more thanan hour and a half.

Petrosellini worked with many other composersduring his lifetime including Baldassare Galuppi,Giuseppe Nicolini, Niccolò Piccinni, PasqualeAnfossi, Domenico Cimarosa, GiovanniPaisiello, Antonio Salieri, and Wolfgang AmadeusMozart.

Catherine the Great’s Court during 1782-1783

Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, was born inGermany in 1729, and named Sophie FriederikeAuguste, Prinzessin (princess) von Anhalt-Zerbst.She was empress of Russia from 1762–96 and ledher country into full participation in the politicaland cultural life of Europe.

Several dramatic events made Catherine II’s court atumultuous place during the years Giovanni Paisiellowas composing Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1782 -1783), and comedic opera was one of her favorite distractions.

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799)A French playwright best known for his comedies TheBarber of Seville (1775) and The Marriage of Figaro (1784),de Beaumarchais was a man of many parts. He was alsoalso a watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier,and revolutionary. He wrote Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 1782,perhaps as a pun on Tirso de Molina’s 1630 play El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra (The Trickster ofSeville and the Stone Guest). The Barber of Seville was initially banned from the French courts because deBeaumarchais showed sympathy for underprivilegedpeople and the lower classes. In the play, the hero is avalet, Figaro, who is more clever than his noble employ-ers, especially his master Almaviva. In thisclass-conscious play, de Beaumarchaismocked the aristocracy although he was well aware of his dependence on its favor.The fame of Paisiello’s opera based on the de Beaumarchais play helped win de Beaumarchais favor with the French royalcourt when in 1785 Marie Antoinette requested her own performance and playedRosina.

Barber pole originsA Barber was more thanjust someone who cut hairin the 16th to 18th centuries.He was also a wig maker, aone-person hair salon,a spa technician, a dentist,and a surgeon. Bloodlettingwas a common practice atthe time. The stripes represented the bandagesthat were wrapped around apatient’s arm which was secured to a pole during theprocedures.

Rossini’s version of the opera...

Of course, whenever anyone thinks of The Barber of Seville, they think ofRossini’s version (1816) originally named Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La Precauzione inutile, dramma giocoso per musica tradotto iberamente dal francese, da rappresentarsi nelTeatro Imperiale del corte (The Barber ofSeville, or The Useless Precaution, comicaldrama with music freely translated from theFrench, presented at the Imperial CourtTheater), often considered the greatestcomic opera ever written. Not wanting toconfuse his new opera with Paisiello’s standard, Rossini initially called his Almaviva.Everyone knew, of course, that both operaswere based on the same play. Paisiello, deeplyoffended that anyone else would try to rivalone of his most successful works, publiclydenounced Rossini. A group of his friendsformed a claque to hiss the upstart work offthe stage. It was a dreadful failure, at least forthe night.

The Figaro CharacterA jack-of-all-trades, a go-to guy, a spin doctor, a minstrel, a busybody, a servant, a dentist, a surgeon,and a barber are some of the many occupations of Figaro. Pierre de Beaumarchais based his Figaro character on a Harlequin named Brighella commonlyportrayed in 17th-century comic opera. Figaro is aclever liar, moral and unscrupulous, good-humored,helpful, and brave with a touch of cynicism.

Opera Lafayette is an American period-instrument ensemble that specializes in theFrench repertoire, rediscovers masterpieces, andcreates a recorded legacy of its work. Founded in1995 in Washington, DC, by Conductor andArtistic Director Ryan Brown, Opera Lafayettehas earned critical acclaim and a loyal followingfor its performances and recordings with international singers renowned for their interpretations of baroque and classical operas.The Baltimore Sun has noted, “The early musicscene in our region – the early music scene, period – is particularly fortunate to have OperaLafayette as a major player.” And The New YorkTimes has said, “Opera Lafayette … has built asterling reputation through specializing in raritiesby Gluck, Grétry and the like.” Opera Lafayette’sseason includes performances at major venues inWashington, DC, and New York City. At the invi-tation of Château de Versailles Spectacles, OperaLafayette made its international debut at theOpéra Royal in February 2012 with the modernworld premiere of Monsigny’s Le Roi et le fermier.France’s Opéra Magazine said, “This productionshould be noted and remembered in the annals ofVersailles, for the intelligence of its staging, thebeauty of its sets, and its high musical quality.”

Opera Lafayette’s discography on the Naxos labelhas expanded to seven recordings with its November 2011 release of Philidor’s Sancho Pança.Grétry’s Le Magnifique is to be released in 2012,and Le Roi et le fermier in 2013.

For more informationon the programs offered by Opera Lafayette and to offer your support,visit our website at www.operalafayette.org.

Education Working Group for Opera LafayetteBetty Byrne

Ellen McCauleyHenry Valoris, General Manager

Anna Brock, Intern Susan Lynner, Board Member

Suzan Reed, Graphic Art Director, Board MemberCheryl Gorelick, Board Member

Jackie Rosen, Volunteer Corrdinator

This brochure was written and designed bySuzan Reed Graphics

Susan Lynner, Board Member

Opera Lafayette is deeply grateful to the more than 200 individuals, foundations, and corporations

who sustain our operations. We are especially grateful to the following corporations

and foundations for their support:

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities,an agency supported in part

by the National Endowment for the Arts

The Gradison Foundation

The Helen Sperry Lea Foundation

The MARPAT Foundation, Inc.

The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

Pernod Ricard

And to our many supporters who have made a three-year pledge to

Vive La Musique! The Campaign for Opera Lafayette.

Ryan Brown,Conductor andArtistic Director

Look, Listen, Learn