LA Opera’s Figaro Trilogy Continues with ‘The Barber of Seville’

Sandra Miska

The “Figaro Trilogy” at the LA Opera will continue this month with “The Barber of Seville,” opening two weeks after “The Ghosts of Versailles,” another “opera buffa” (comic opera) featuring the character of Figaro, a free-thinking barber.  “The Figaro Trilogy: The Barber of Seville” will open Feb. 28 and will run though March 22 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

The original Italian version of the opera “The Barber of Seville” premiered in 1816 and was composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on the French play “Le Barbier de Séville” (1775) by Pierre Beaumarchais.  This version by the LA Opera, which originally premiered in 2009, features English subtitles.

“The Barber of Seville” tells the story of a count named Almaviva who has fallen in love with a spunky woman named Rosina.  Almaviva is determined to make Rosina love him for himself, not for his wealth and title.  Standing in his way is the lady’s grumpy old guardian Bartolo, who wishes to marry Rosina himself.  Almaviva goes to his former servant Figaro for assistance, and the barber conjures up wacky schemes and strategies to get the young loves together.

From the LA Opera: “A topnotch cast sails through the score’s bel canto glories, thrilling the audience as characters that are just as vivid today as when they first took the stage. Rossini’s razor-sharp musical wit glints through every scene of this delicious comedy, one of the most playful and popular in the entire operatic repertoire.”

That topnotch cast includes Rodion Pogossov as Figaro, René Barbera as Count Almaviva, and in her LA Opera debut, Elizabeth DeShong as Rosina.

Those who wish to know more about “The Barber of Seville” will have the opportunity to join Music Director James Conlon for pre-opera talks in the Eva and Marc Stern Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. These talks will begin one hour before each performance and are complimentary for ticketholders.

The LA Opera will perform “The Barber of Seville” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Feb. 28, March 8, 11, 14, 19 and 22.