Beaumarchais

In this opera, the first and third parts of Beaumarchais’s trilogy – The Barber of Seville and The Guilty Mother – are presented as episodes in the life of the Almaviva family: from the Count’s passionate youth, when he wins Rosina away from her terrible guardian, Bartolo, and marries her, to maturity, with the grief of losing a son and the consequent apathy that blinds him to the presence of a traitor who, in his own house, schemes his ruin. Accompanying this life story, certain characters prove decisive at different stages: Bartolo, Basilio and Bégearss as negative counterpoints to happiness; Susanna, Florestine and Léon as further images of innocence; and finally Figaro, an extraordinary blend of intelligence, loyalty and determination.