THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Il Barbiere di Seviglia)

One early morning during the eighteenth century, just as the rosy dawn appeared, the sound of soft, sweet music arose from one of the streets of Seville; for a group of picked musicians had been stationed in front of a private house to accompany a serenade to a certain fair lady who dwelt within.

A little apart from the musicians stood the singer, a tall, handsome cavalier, wrapped in a dark cloak; and as his song proceeded, the serenader kept his gaze rivetted upon a window that led out upon the balcony of the house, as though expecting the form of his adored one to appear in that spot.

This cavalier was the Count Almaviva, a rich nobleman, who, having beheld one day, on a visit to Seville, a lovely maiden upon the balcony of this house, had straightway fallen in love with her; and, in consequence of this he had left his country estate and taken up his abode in Seville, that he might be near the object of his affections, and seek an opportunity to woo her.

He learnt that the young lady's name was Rosina, and that she was the ward of a fussy old physician named Dr. Bartolo; and by means of nightly serenades and frequent strolls past her dwelling-place, the young Count endeavoured to bring himself to the notice of the maiden. Nor was he unsuccessful; for the lovely Rosina, although kept almost a prisoner by her jealous guardian, who desired to wed her himself, managed to obtain sight of her serenader and quickly conceived a romantic passion for him.
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ROSSINI

In spite of the mutual understanding between them, the pair had never yet met, nor spoken with each other; and to-night the Count had hoped to attain this object. But Rosina was too closely watched by her guardian and her duenna; and when the dawn at length broke Almaviva sadly dismissed his musicians, sending them away with a handsome reward.

After the delighted musicians had departed, the Count remained dejectedly near the abode of his beloved one; and here he was presently accosted by the popular barber and general factotum of the town, a merry roguish fellow named Figaro, whose quick wit and lively mercurial temperament caused him to be in constant request by his many patrons for their jokes and intrigues.

Quickly noticing the dejected looks of the strange cavalier, Figaro entered into conversation with him, offering his services, should he need them; and merrily he described his numerous valuable qualities to the Count, declaring that he was the best match-maker, plotter, and gossip in all Seville, to say nothing of being the most fashionable adept in his more legitimate occupation of chirurgeon-barber.

Almaviva quickly succumbed to the charm of the roguish barber; and seeing at once that Figaro might be of great use to him, he confided to him the secret of his love for Rosina, and engaged him to assist in his suit, promising to reward him very handsomely for his services.

Figaro readily agreed to devote himself to the interest of this new patron; and very quickly his inventive wit suggested ways and means for bringing the lovers together. He informed the Count that old Dr. Bartolo desired to wed his charming ward himself, regardless of the disparity in their ages and the indifference of the lady; in which ridiculous project he was being aided and abetted by another equally fussy old fellow, one Don Basilio, a music-master. However, as the barber was constantly in and out of the house, he assured the Count that he would find means to communicate with Rosina, and to hood-wink her guardian; and with this assurance the Count departed, greatly cheered.

Figaro's artful plans succeeded so well that Rosina soon learnt that her love was returned by the handsome cavalier who haunted the precincts of her home, and whom the barber described as a young student named Lindoro; and she now managed to send him a note, in which she declared that his love was acceptable to her.

The Count was thus filled with joy; and, with the aid of the inventive barber, an interview between the enamoured pair was now devised. At the suggestion of Figaro, the Count disguised himself one evening as a common soldier; and pretending also to be intoxicated, he forced his way with a rowdy, roystering manner into the house of Dr. Bartolo, from whom he demanded a night's lodging as the rightful due of one who served his country; and during the stormy altercation that ensued between the indignant Doctor and himself, Rosina, attracted by the noise, made her appearance.

Quickly lurching to her side, the pretended soldier managed to reveal his true identity to her; and though instantly separated by the angry and jealous Doctor, the lovers contrived dexterously to exchange letters. The interview was soon brought to an end by the arrival of the guard, drawn thither by the commotion, into whose charge the Doctor gladly handed over his unwelcome guest; but as the officers hurried him away the Count declared to them his real name, and showed them, in proof of his assertion, the high orders and decorations he wore beneath his disguise, upon which they set him free, and respectfully departed, the richer by a substantial gift.

Shortly afterwards the indefatigable Figaro devised another scheme for the meeting of the lovers; and this time, Almaviva, disguised as a poor musician, was unsuspectingly admitted into the house of Dr. Bartolo, to whom he explained that his name was Don Alonzo, and that he had been sent by his friend Don Basilio, whom he declared to be ill.

Finding himself not very well received by the old guardian, he handed to him the note he had received from Rosina, pretending he had found it in the inn where Count Almaviva lodged, and offering to show it to the young lady and declare to her that it had been sent by one of the Count's other numerous admirers, that she might thus become estranged from him.

Dr. Bartolo, quite unsuspicious of trickery, readily agreed to this ruse, being very anxious to put an end to his ward's infatuation for the Count, who, as he of course knew by this time, was haunting the neighbourhood; and he thus consented to allow the music lesson to proceed, in order that this disturbing communication might be made to his ward.

He thereupon brought Rosina into the room, and introduced her to the supposed Don Alonzo, in whom, however, she quickly recognised her lover; and at that moment Figaro most opportunely arrived in his capacity as barber to Dr. Bartolo, in order to keep the old gentleman obligingly occupied with his toilet so that the lovers might make arrangements for their elopement, which the Count desired to carry out that night.

Very cleverly, also, the barber managed to secure the keys of certain doors usually kept locked at night, so that Rosina, at the appointed time, could reach the balcony, from whence, by means of a ladder, she could escape to her lover.

In order to disarm the Doctor's still evident suspicion, the form of a singing lesson was gone through; but, thanks to Figaro's constant chatter and deft manipulation of his client's beard, the lovers managed to exchange confidences between the snatches of music, and made all the arrangements for their elopement and secret marriage that night.

All went well until, quite suddenly, the old music-master himself appeared on the scene, very much astonished at finding his place and occupation usurped by a strange young man. Figaro, however, with his usual versatility, saved the situation by pretending that Don Basilio really looked extremely ill, and, feeling his pulse with mock anxiety, declared him to be in a high fever, and entreated him to return home to bed. The Count also, by the judicious offer of a well-filled purse, succeeded in persuading the confused professor to depart for the time being.

Dr. Bartolo's suspicions, however, were now fully roused, so that it became necessary for the Count to make a quick escape; and when he had gone the old guardian fussily produced the letter given him by the pretended musician, and endeavoured on his own account to poison Rosina's mind against her lover in the manner agreed upon. Rosina's jealousy against some unknown rival was thus quickly kindled; and angry and distressed at having been deceived, as she supposed, by the Count, she revealed the secret arrangement for her elopement that night.

The wily old Doctor quickly followed up the vantage he had scored, and now pressed his own suit; and Rosina, in a fit of pique, giving him her consent, he hurried away to make arrangements with a notary to unite them that day. Meeting with Don Basilio, and now learning from him that the strange musician and Count Almaviva were one and the same, he hurried on his plans with still greater eagerness, feeling that with such a daring rival he could not consider himself safe until his marriage contract with Rosina had been signed; and having arranged with the music-master to bring the notary along that same night, he went away to procure the officers of justice to be in readiness to arrest the Count and Figaro should they appear and endeavour to upset his plans.

But success was to be with love and youth; for the star of the Count was in the ascendant, and, with the aid of the irrepressible Figaro, he was able to accomplish his ends.

Fortunately, the elopement had been planned for the early part of the night; and as soon as darkness set in Almaviva and the barber made their appearance in front of the Doctor's house, and, by means of a ladder, succeeded in reaching the balcony. Here they were presently joined by Rosina, who, though already repenting of her jealous fit, at first repulsed her eager lover, charging him with unfaithfulness; but upon the cavalier explaining the whole matter of the letter, at the same time revealing his true identity as the Count Almaviva, she was quickly reconciled to him.

Whilst the now happy lovers were thus engaged in tender converse, the alert Figaro discovered that the ladder by which they were to reach the ground below had been taken away; and at the same moment Don Basilio appeared on the balcony with the notary, who had brought the contract for the marriage of Rosina with Dr. Bartolo.

Seeing that no time was to be lost, the three plotters hurried forward, the Count declaring to the notary that Rosina and himself were the parties who were to sign the document; and drawing the amazed Don Basilio aside, he slipped a valuable ring on to his finger, and advised him to be amenable to reason, at the same time judiciously showing him a loaded pistol as an even more persuasive argument.

The old music-master prudently accepted the forced situation with a good grace; and the Count and Rosina immediately signed the marriage contract in the presence of the notary, with Figaro and Don Basilio as their witnesses.

Just as the joyful lovers were thus lawfully united, Dr. Bartolo arrived with the officers of justice; and seeing that the Count and Figaro had indeed appeared, as he had suspected they would, he furiously denounced them as thieves and rogues, and commanded the officers to arrest them.

However, Almaviva advanced readily, and with great dignity announced himself as a Grandee of Spain and the newly-made husband of the fair Rosina; and eventually, after a somewhat stormy scene, enlivened by the witty raillery of the lively Figaro, the old Doctor acknowledged his defeat, and reconciled himself to the inevitable with excellent good-humour, even magnanimously bestowing a fatherly blessing upon the triumphant pair.

Thus did these determined lovers gain their hearts' desire; and when Count Almaviva returned home with his charming bride, he took with him as his confidential body-servant the man whose fertile wit had helped him to win his happiness—Figaro, the merry Barber of Seville.