The Barber of Seville at 201..

On March 27 1816 at Rome's Teatro Argentina , a four-week run of a new opera ended. Its title: The Barber of Seville by a young promising composer named Gioacchino Rossini. Having begun as a disaster, its opening night on February 20 was practically whistled off the stage by fans of rival composer Paisiello. Nonetheless, the opera was given a second chance which resulted in triumph. The Barber went on to take over the world becoming the most popular work in the history of musical theater .Having entered its 201st year, here is a brief account of this exciting musical journey and, to what extent, the Barber has been instrumental in defining Italian Opera and by extension Western Culture as a whole.

My first love ever was The Barber of Seville. I was 14 years old when I heard Koussevitsky conduct the Overture and at that moment I knew what I wanted to become when I would grow up. Leonard Bernstein

MADE IN ITALY

The curtain rises revealing a street in Seville. Delightful and gentle music floats through the neighborhood. The night is fast spent and we find a group of young men under a window, guitar and mandolin in hand. Another beau is standing in front of them about to begin a serenade Ecco ridente in cielo . Though supposedly set in Spain, and regardless of the costumes designed for the production, the music and the overall atmosphere of the moment are more reminiscent of a typical ad from the Italian Bureau of Tourism "Come and enjoy the land of outdoor living, music and romance".

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The young man calls upon his beloved with words reminiscent of to these famous lines:

'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks It is the east and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun and kill the envious moon Who is already sick with grief That thou her maid art far more fair than she' Romeo and Juliet Act II scene2

This text is one of the most powerful expressions of young love in world -theater. It belongs to a theatrical convention called the Balcony Scene . Being a climactic moment in the plot, a Balcony Scene is the result of a sequence of moments in which the protagonists are weighing the pros and cons of whether their love should be revealed, thus providing the most important ingredient for a successful drama : conflict. For in theater, once love is openly declared, there is no turning back. From then on it will either have to be fulfilled in the case of comedy or become frustrated, when it comes to tragedy.

Maestro Alberto Zedda is the Artistic Director of the Rossini Opera Festiva l in Pesaro ,Rossini's home town. He is recognized as one of the world's most prominent authorities on the composer's work.

This is extremely provocative material. We have a young man in love with a girl. But when our lover is Count of Almaviva, a member of the nobility who wishes to marry Rosina a girl who comes from the bourgeoisie, things get complicated. In those days mixed marriages between social classes were totally unacceptable. Yet Almaviva, (with the help of an extraordinary character whom we will encounter a little later), will do everything in his power to marry the girl, even though he risks being stricken from the nobility register because of such an act . Rossini was playing with a political time bomb. But then comes genius : The Barber is one of the most beautiful love stories the stage has even known

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Teatro Argentina, Rome

Vincenzo de Vivo is the Artistic Director of opera Ancona-Jesi .and former Artistic Director of La Fenice -Venice, the Teatro San Carlo -Naples and the Rome Opera . Mr. de Vivo explains:

The choice of Rome for such a performance was in itself controversial. Unlike Naples and Venice which were important centers of musical culture in Italy, Rome was considered musically to be a backwater-with the exception of sacred music which flourished due to the vicinity of the Vatican. Rossini however had already gone through a successful tenure at the San Carlo Opera in Naples. He was invited there by millionaire-producer Domenico Barbaia as the most promising young composer jin Italy. Together they created a network of Neapolitan singers who would render an unsurpassable quality to their productions with which they would set to conquer the world. There was also another consideration as well: Tourism

Ever since the times of Julius Caesar, Rome has cast an unbroken spell over its visitors. As the centuries pass, they only add more layers of history and culture to its fascination. In fact Rome is the only city in the world that has been a major tourist destination for twenty-one centuries, uninterruptedly!

The cessation of hostilities of the Napoleonic Wars on the European continent brought the revival of the Grand Tour .A must for the completion of a gentleman's education and refinement. But the years after the Revolution brought about a renewal of the Grand Tour's demographics. The adventure was no longer reserved to scions of nobility. Sons of merchants, bankers and industrialists began to take up this cultural experience.

In the center of the city we find the Spanish Steps, one of the most photographed sites in the world, and the most emblematic view of Rome. At the bottom of the impressive staircase carved into the Pincian Hill stands a building known as the Keats -Shelley House . This is one of the foremost institutions in Europe dedicated to the preservation of British culture overseas. The museum's cultural significance is underlined by the patronage of HRH the Prince of Wales.

Giuseppe Albano director/curator of the institution guides us through this unique experience :

Because of its thrilling classical past Rome was the Holy Grail of the Grand Tour. Everybody who was anybody would come here to learn and then return home to boast of their experiences. Post-Napoleon the Grand Tour became a more socially and egalitarian phenomenon, and Rome certainly was ready to welcome the new hordes of tourists that flooded back to the city with open arms and open coffers. We are reminded of this every day at the Keats-Shelley House as Piazza di Spagna was the focal point for the visitors who came to the city. But the Romantics came here for escape and for personal reasons, as much as they did to come and learn.

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ENTERTAINMENT FOR EVERYBODY

There was one point where rats converged to: George Gordon Byron,

Drama and opera have always been about the suffering of heroes, exposing them to heart-wrenching situations in which they declaim their woes in passionate monologues. In Romantic theater, when a hero is faced with a major dilemma, he isolates himself in a remote place to ponder on his discomfort but also question a universe he does not comprehend. As darkness enhances this sense of inner confusion, the stillness of the night is the ideal time for such a scene. In opera and song these scenes were also called "Night Pieces". This portrayal of the hero as a misfit was the key to success of Romantic Drama, It echoed the spirit of the times and reflected George Gordon Byron

Whether considered a prophet, a genius, a pervert, Lord Byron became a point of reference for Grand Tourists, Romantics, Revolutionaries, Members of the Middle Class and Aristocrats alike. He was the embodiment of a restless spirit living in restless times and of the passing of the baton from the old world to the new one.

Byron declared his adoration for Rossini and Rossini worshiped him, says music critic Alexis Spanides creator of Operattika.gr . Rossini, himself the son of a revolutionary who was imprisoned during the Napoleonic wars by monarchists, was fascinated by the passion with which a privileged noble like Byron embraced causes and even ended his days fighting for the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman yoke. To this heroic death Rossini dedicated 'The Siege of Corinth'

The Byron-Rossini relationship was a match in heaven for Romanticism, Opera and Politics- not just liberal but also..... imperialistic..

Even though the Congress of Vienna tried restoring the pre-revolutionary world order of absolute monarchy, Byron's role, due to his fame and notoriety, was that of a reminder that the great winner of the wars and the rising super-power was Great Britain.He became in fact the most important contributor to the spread of British culture. The world according to Byron was a world according to the dictations of the Albion. . Oddly enough the Middle Classes had come into prominence because of the Industrial Revolution, a purely English creation. As money began measuring itself against privilege, Britain stood at the center of the debate open to trade with anybody. Thus the British public became the prime targeted audience of the performing arts, remodeling the remote haunted castles of the English countryside and the distant windswept moorlands of Scotland into commonplace settings of Italian Opera. As the demographics of audiences began to shift towards these social groups, the messages conveyed in the Barber turned Opera into the ideal vehicle for the promotion of these new ideas, upon which our world today is based.

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However, in order to achieve world-dominance one had to to first make a stop at the world capital of music

THE NEW COMEDY

Until the Barber Italian comic opera was mostly 'opera buffa' :a rough canvass of a plot in which stock characters and predictable incidents took place as action. Everything was slapstick. The Barber of Seville is the first opera in which a love story develops between real people with depth of character and emotion. Until then, virtue was reserved for 'Serious Opera' the protagonists of which were gods and kings. By crossing the stiff boundaries between genres and applying this human dimension to comedy Rossini turned the Middle Class into the protagonists of society. Nothing could be more groundbreaking. And once he married this political concept to his incredible music: the world went mad, says Maestro Zedda!

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPTH

In the history of opera there have been several instances when a performer would differentiate himself from the rest as an exceptionally gifted actor. This theatrical advantage has always provided material for the making of operatic legend. There is nevertheless one performance of a role in operatic history that stands out as a landmark that influenced the overall course of theatrical history.

Although opera's most memorable moments are mostly associated with tragedy, Feodor Chaliapin's interpretation of Don Basilio (the music teacher in the Barber) is raw comedy. Who just like Rossini and Barbaja , another producer called Sergei Diaghilev took the world by storm with his Ballet Russes. Showcasing Russian culture presenting a unique bass in serious roles from Russian opera.

In his aria, La Calumnia Basilio sings the praises of his well-planned slander campaign mechanism. He proceeds in a detailed presentation of this process of vilification of others. The plan sounds infallible: it is guaranteed to ruin reputations and destroy the victims' lives. As he goes on enumerating the advantages of his concept the imagery builds in darkness and nastiness sending the sound into a huge crescendo and ending in an extra-large size of everything.

Though Bass Dimitri Kavrakos is famous for his renditions of serious opera roles, he has also addressed the role of the music teacher successfully. Mr. Kavrakos says:

Treating Basilio as a character role is a great misconception. This is a very difficult aria, because you have to sing beautifully while being ludicrous. I tell my students that once you can master such a scene then you can sing anything. Basilio is just delightful. He talks big but if you take him seriously you fall into a trap. He may be silly but never dangerous. I approach him as a person who is laughing at himself while menacing others. It's all written in the music after all. There are many interesting interpretations of Basilio. Ruggiero Raimondi's was more sardonic and Machiavellic. Sam Ramey was grand. As for the greatest Mephistopheles of our times, Nikolai Ghiaurov he was, well........ Mephistophelian! Then we have Chaliapin: There are no words to descrube such a performance except that it must be the perfect fusion of song and speech, of theater and opera.

Although this aria contains most of the dark elements of opera (poison, intrigue, treason) and yet is considered as one of the funniest monologues ever written.

What makes Chaliapin's approach so successful is the addition of a psychological dimension to opera. His portrayal of Basilio is that of an insignificant person who is having his great moment in life. This is first class Arthur Miller material put into reverse (into comedy). Under this light, Chaliapin's Basilio and Eddie Carbone from A View from the Bridge don't seem to be too far apart. The only thing that separates them is their creator's insight.

Having studied music with Sergei Rachmaninoff, Chaliapin received acting lessons by Anton Chekhov (himself a major influence on A. Miller's work). The great playwright introduced Chaliapin to "method acting" .By applying this method to The Barber of Seville Chaliapin revolutionized not only opera but world theater. One of the converts that Chaliapin's Basilio is said to have proselytized, was a young man who would change the theatrical scene of New York: Lee Strasberg.

MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

'The Viennese have always taken their music seriously. Even today you walk into a taxi and the driver will give you a first-rate criticism of last night's performance at the State Opera or the Philharmonic' says Dr. Georg Springer, former Director of the Austrian Federal Theaters.

' Vienna had a head start in the sense that the Empire extended over large swathes of Italy and Italian was officially considered the second language of the State. Today we are witnessing a similar phenomenon in the United States where huge careers iof Spanish-speaking performers like Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin are being built, Rossini's arrival in Vienna (along with Barbaia and his company of Neapolitan singers) took the city by storm. For a period of time the only music played in the city was his. Everybody loved it, even Beethoven! The Barber of Seville has kept a strong foothold on the city's musical life ever since. Being the most profitable this Rossini-craze created severe problems with German-speaking composers who felt very threatened it. Franz Schubert abandoned opera altogether turning to song. Trying to defend their local composer from the Italian invader, music critics passed on the offensive. It is about this time that the controversy between Art Song considered as serious music versus Italian Opera which is treated like junk begins.. Rossini composed having the public in mind. If the audience complained over the length of an opera, he would diligently spend the night revising it into a much shorter piece. He was accused by critics of being a crowd pleaser. He certainly was one! That is why, two hundred years later, the public still remains faithful to The Barber of Seville. "Pleasure" is the key to Italian Opera.

Imbroglio is an Italian word that denotes an extremely complicated, confused and embarrassing situation. It is also a theatrical device of Italian Opera in the form of an ensemble, allowing the different voices of various characters to simultaneously express different and often conflicting opinions. Imbroglio is used most effectively in comic opera as the closing number of the first act.

A very large number of mostly unexpected situations are being cramped within a very short space of time. The more compressed the situations get, the more the stage action accelerates. Reaching a dead end, the frenetic plot explodes in every direction and the curtain descends on a state of total confusion.

Maestro David Angus, Music Director of Boston Lyric Opera explains:

The First Act ensemble has definitely contributed into making the Barber one of the top sellers of all times. It is a difficult piece in its own way. The conductor can't get carried away by what's happening in the plot. He has to communicate the nervousness while paying attention to all the odd little sounds and subtleties of the score, yet at all times allow the flexibility singers need, in a piece that moves extremely fast.

Imbroglio is also a stage director's dream, and one of the greatest pleasures for audiences. But can Imbroglios happen in real life? Dr. Springer seems to believe this:

A typical Viennese tradition is that follow the performer (after the spectacle) back to his home and serenade him. On Rossini's last evening in Vienna, huge crowds followed him back home and began singing in the street. Thrilled, Rossini pushed his windows wide open, sat at the piano and asked his guests-who happened to be some of the most important singers in the city-to perform for the outdoor audience. The concert went on for a long time. Around two in the morning Rossini went back to the window and began singing "Figaro si, Figaro no'. But then something happened as if straight out of the Barber's Act I imbroglio: the police arrived, called in by neighbors complaining for the noise. Just imagine, neighbors cursing from their balconies, policemen chasing students and others singing passages from the opera to bewildered law-enforcement officers, as they were about to be arrested. This is one night that remains forever engraved in the psyche of the city and sealed the bond between the Viennese and The Barber of Seville.

ON WINGS OF SONG

'Bel Canto melodies are not meaningful in themselves. A scale or a roulade is just a succession of notes which become significant only when the singer gives them meaning. It's like a dormant world waiting for the interpreter to bring it to life. Furthermore the exact same phrase can be used in Bel Canto to express pleasure or pain. With Verdi and Puccini it's all written clearly. Everybody cries in unison when Butterfly is about to commit suicide. In Bel Canto it is up to the performer to decipher these hidden meanings and deliver them to the public. It's like Miro drawing: there is no figurative value; it has become an abstract work of art. That is a huge responsibility for any performer to bear on his shoulders'.Maestro Alberto Zedda

'You do not paint this picture by drawing outlines but with colors. Thousands of them, countless shades'. Dr. Springer further insists and Maestro De Vivo concludes: 'This is the reason why singers, during the 18th and 19th centuries, would spend the greater part of their childhood and adolescence locked up in music schools. Contrary to popular belief, which wants a tenor walking from a bakery onto the stage of Milan's La Scala, a singer was a product of systematic hard work and erudition. The singer not only had to study music but also literature, poetry, and philosophy. Only after having mastered these disciplines would the singers tackle the leading roles'.

OF DIVAS AND OPERAS

"A voice I heard not long ago, within my heart, here, deeply resounds. ." * is the opening line of a girl who, in the stillness of her room at night, ponders over the effect that a voice she heard serenading her (that of Count Almaviva) had on her emotional world.

Rosina is a woman in love. Whether she turns into a viper or plays nasty tricks on whomever will try to stand in her way as she menaces to do is all secondary (despite the trills and frills in her music). Comedy is overtaken by romance and Rosina no longer acts like most characters before her but reacts to a situation. Opera is becoming drama. The protagonist may be the girl next door and she is reacting to life just like any other girl would. What is most potent is the identification of the audience with the characters on stage.

Sensing the magnitude of his innovation, Rossini was in desperate need to find a Rosina who would master the art of Bel Canto and could act convincingly.

He was about to get her with a vengeance.

The morning of February 21st 1816, following the Barber's opening night fiasco, Manuel Garcia, the baritone who played Figaro took his family to Rossini's place His 12-year-old girl Maria embraced the disheartened composer, cursing the audience that heckled him the night before and swearing she would one day vindicate Rosina for him. True to her word, she grew up to become the greatest opera singer of all times and one of the most important Rossini interpreters

In Maria Malibran all the required talents seem to have blend together into a public captivating personality . Breathing life into the roles she performed, she became the symbol of her times, of a society that was leading a "real" life and was proud to express it openly. As more and more social groups began considering her as their own, her admirers became fanatics. Hailed as the incarnation of Romantic Opera she inspired countless artists, from Delacroix, to Stendhal, to Walter Scott, to Chopin, and even to Bellini. She became the first link, in a long chain of divas (passing through Lilli Lehmann and HenrietteSontag and reaching to Federica Von Stade and Dame Joan Sutherland) to have made her stage debut as Rosina.

A mysterious Romanitc Lady by American experimental artist Jenifer Elster

Malibran was also the first opera diva of international magnitude to appear on an American stage.On November 29, 1825, the first opera ever performed in its totality in New York was The Barber of Seville. with Manuel Garcia as Figaro and Maria as Rosina (a role she had performed successfully in England).The Barber's astounding success, established Opera as one of the leading forms of entertainment in the U.S

This triumph was partly due to a well-greased public relations machine created by Lorenzo Da Ponte , the librettist of Mozart's Don Giovanni who had become the first professor of Italian language at Columbia University.. Blending in a grandiose promotional image the Imperial Court of Vienna (where he had collaboarted with Mozart) with the English aristocracy (who comprised the audience of the Garcias in England) and the New York fashion houses (who created a line of formal evening-wear for opera going), Da Ponte spent a few months preparing the New Yorkers for this new and unique experience: the marriage of high-art, high-fashion and society also referred as an evening at the opera. The road had been paved for the creation of the New York Academy of Music and for the Metropolitan Opera.

The Park Theater at 21-25 Park Row where the first US performance of 'The Barber of Seville' took place - Wikipedia

The second half of the nineteenth century is also referred to as of the age divas (goddesses).. Yet most of these goddesses thrived in the shadow of one name: Adelina Patti.

Lilli Lehman, one of the greatest singers of all times would say of her in her autobiography:

Adelina Patti was the foremost Italian singer of my era. Her beautiful voice would linger long after the sound ended, just like the echo of a well-tuned bell.

Madame Patti also became the first significant performer to perceive the field of opera as an industry and build a massive career along these principles. Aware from early on that the world around her was constantly changing, she applied many scientific discoveries toward the advancement of her personal musical profession.

Having grasped the importance of the wireless telegraph and later on of the telephone, she set a formidable public relations machine that would commission huge posters, buy advertising space in publications and above all would constantly feed the daily papers with stories about herself. Celebrity watch was being born... Taking advantage of the shortening of the duration of the transatlantic voyage by modern steamship, she multiplied appearances in both Europe and America thus maintaining an ever closer contact with her public. Riding as an opera pioneer on the fast railroads of her friend William Henry Vanderbilt, she conquered America performing in remote locations. Wherever she arrived people would turn up in droves to be in her presence, so that they could one day proudly exclaim: "I saw Adelina Patti in my lifetime! "

This frenetic journey could be captioned/resumed by four words in a foreign language, a rhythmic motto that went "una voce poco fa" which could be translated as "diva'", "romance", "joy of singing", "beautiful girl", "Italian Opera" and above all "The Barber of Seville" .

Rosina's aria is also one of the most popular arias performed on the concert stage.It has figured in countless programs and is one of the most popular audition pieces. Here, the aria is extracted from its theatrical plot and the character becomes strongly identified with the performer 's personality.

One of the most important piano accompanists of the 20th century was Nina Walker. A star pupil of Alfred Cortot, she became the accompanist of legendary Dame Maggie Teyte. She gave historical recitals with Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and the formidable Monserrat Caballe.

Accompanying Monserrat in Rosina is a unique experience. Monserrat approaches the 'una voce poco fa' aria in the way she does best: as a Prima Donna. And, believe me, nobody does it better! The timid girl is nowhere to be found in such an interpretation. The sole purpose of the music becomes that of showcasing the star (She is of course the highest paid singer of her times). That's exactly what audiences expect of her. This is why they're queuing for hours at the box office. Most singers struggle when going high up and this effort shows up in their singing. Not with her.... She is a natural slider and glider. As the voice rises to heights effortlessly, the higher it climbs the softer and thinner it becomes..... She loves to hold a high note forever or at least until people in the audience begin looking at each other in amazement. Then her eye will catch mine and she will wink. You know, Monserrat, Rosina, all these Spanish seductresses.......

STARRING : THE ORDINARY MAN...

Show Business is about Entrances. From Tosca's off stage 'Marios', to Odile's Black Swan dynamic arrival , Richard III's 'Now is the winter of our discontent' opening' monologue, to the ineluctable opening pan of the camera on the legs of Julia Roberts in her early films, to the specially lit face of Marlena Dietrich : an audience's first impression of the character is bound to define its relationship with the dramatis persona for the rest of the play. They will know what to expect of him. Yet, of all these entrances none is as brilliant or memorable as that of Figaro in The Barber of Seville. For Figaro enters his namesake play with a Bang!

Maestro David Angus, comments:

'What is striking is the unbelievable energy that explodes as he comes on stage. The music of Largo al factotum sets Figaro up in character as a brilliant and very busy person. You understand why everyone is attracted to him. The music leaves no doubt. The dynamics, the contrasts, the the ski-jumps in the music- as I like to call them. But despite this variety of diverse elements it is crucial to keep in mind the overall picture of the piece and its flow. That's Bel Canto after all. And that' s what Figaro is: a character full of surprises and contradictions but a very complete personality.This is one piece the orchestra seems to be enjoying this music as much as the audience in the hall And Maestro Zedda adds : He is the new person. Extremely ambitious. He is not after titles or wealth riches he just wants to become somebody: the prototype of the self-made man'

Three great Figaros : Tito Gobbi, Robert Merrill and Leonard Warren

This point helps understand the immense appeal of Figaro in The United States. From the Declaration of Independence onward, Americans have taken pride in having created a merit-based society, in which people achieve success and rewards through education and hard work. This freedom to choose one's own course in life is also called the 'pursuit of happiness,' a notion protected in the Declaration itself. A man perceived as happy because he is free to work in a job that is self-fulfilling. Furthermore, Figaro also embodies the 'can-do' feeling that has traditionally given Americans a sense of optimism about themselves. This partly explains the gusto with which American baritones from Lawrence Tibbett , to Leonard Warren, Robert Merrill , Sherrill Milnes and more recently to Thomas Hampson sing the part. They all seem to have a deeper understanding of the character.

The immense popularity of Figaro is also reflected in American popular culture: especially in the influence this aria had on animated cartoons. In Walter Lantz' s The Barber of Seville, Woody Woodpecker is trying to emulate Figaro. The cartoon is characterized by its breakneck speed, timing, and music synchronization.

During the shaving of the second client, the rapid succession, of different shots is dizzying, some lasting only a fraction of a second. At an instant he is tossing his shaving brush into the shaving mug producing an excessive amount of foam, he then sharpens the razor on the customer's tie, wraps the face with a hot towel, gives a spin to the revolving barber's chair and here and there freezes for a pause, arms wide-open during which he launches into a high held note.

Rossini is Figaro and Figaro is Rossini. The one feeds on the other, says maestro de Vivo

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Quick and energetic , one could even say contagiously energizing, the piece is brimming with joy and carefreeness

Figaro up, Figaro down, Figaro right Figaro left,Figaro here, Figaro there, Figaro nowhere and everywhere, Ready for anything at any time lalalala.

Embodying the force of optimism and joyous positive thinking, Figaro is Oprah at her best !

I take my pleasures seriously. I work hard and play well. I believe in the ying and yang of life. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy because I find satisfaction in so much of what I do. What I know for sure is that pleasure is energy reciprocated: What you put out comes back. Your base level of pleasure is determined by how you view your whole life. And because I try to practice what I preach- living at the moment- I am consciously attuned most of the time to how much pleasure I am receiving. Oprah Winfrey What I know for Sure .

In exploring the social status of a barber in the 19th century well turn to London-based Truefitt & Hill has been the world's greatest barber store for the past 211 years. Located at the heart of the prestigious St. James neighborhood, Truefitt is a revered institution for Londoners. With products sold in five continents and stores opening in Baku, Shanghai and North America Truefitt & Hill is fast becoming a global luxury brand.

The store manager Kate Broughton tells us:

All of our barbers look up to Figaro. They just don't sing..... Truefitt & Hill opened its doors to the public in 1805, eleven years before the arrival of The Barber of Seville. at the time London was becoming a bustling metropolis and barbers were very much involved in the right circles. They became the trusted men of society. Clients would confide to their barber considering him almost a friend. If we take into account that many of our clients were high-ranking Members of Parliament (Winston Churchill was a devoted customer of ours) or of the Court, on occasion our barbers might have been entrusted with important matters of state.We'll never find out. Discretion is a barber's most important quality ! Shaving is an art form: The ways one applies the shaving cream and the hot towel have to be mastered. All of our barbers have learned the techniques and formulations from the master barbers of the previous generation, who pass on their knowledge of this traditional art form. Hair is a very prominent feature,a man's major preoccupation with his looks. We have shaped many generational looks . From the Lord Byron clean shaven face- yet sort of messy hair (which of course took on time to ensure that it was the right type of disheveled, out-of-bed look), to the so-called Car Formula developed to give hair a strong hold while driving a convertible car, to the edgier looks accepted in the work-places of today. We've kept up with the times and trends. But we have been major innovators as well. In 1870 we created the first women's salon in the world. Until then it was unheard of for women to leave her house in order to have her hair done. We had to create a private room on the second floor, to keep them out of public sight. Mr. Trufitt and Mr. Hill were also the first to create women's lipstick.

There is no formal entry of the name Gioacchino Rossini in the records of Truefitt & Hill. Whether the composer of The Barber ever visited the world's most famous barber is a question open to speculation. But one of the opera's most fervent fanatics, Charles Dickens, was a regular customer at Truefitts. He described the store in detail in The Uncommercial Traveler. He would often be escorted by his friend and famous interpreter of Rosina, Pauline Viardot- youngest daughter of Manuel Garcia and sister to Maria Malibran. The Barber's first timid steps mut certail

Figaros Neapolitan tradition of haircutting is securely guarded at Massimo Salon in downtown New York. Massimo La Rocca and Filippo Caporaso explain:

In Naples people take their haircut seriously. Even the young regularly visit the barber for a trim, before going out at night. Its a cultural phenomenon. No wonder Rossini conceived the Barber during his stay in Naples. Naples being the first city in the world to create an academy for hairdressers and parucchieri, the Neapolitan school of haircut is about tradition being passed down the generations. It was also in Naples that skull massage was first incorporated in the haircut ritual. Furthermore, a barber is to judge personality in order to make the head fit. Enter Figaro, the Italian barbers alter ego.

ITALIAN OPERA AS A BRAND

Opera becomes an integral part of Western culture. By means of architecture and city planning the art form imposes itself on the urban landscape. By mid-19th century, the opera house of every major city has become one of its most important landmarks. In the case of the Sidney Opera, the edifice comes to define the city itself. In Paris the Opera building is viewed as the most potent symbol of French culture.

Opera houses are growing in size to accommodate ever growing audiences and becoming more luxurious. It is in this dazzling environments that the Opera House becomes a venue for socializing, closing deals, matchmaking and stolen kissing. A night at the opera is considered an important social event.

'The opera house becomes a meeting point for society at large. The number of boxes has to multiply in order to accommodate the large number of patrons whose status is beginning to matter, says Mr. De Vivo and Dr. Springer adds "And let us not forget the parterre (orchestra) designated for the working classes and above all the most passionate sector of a lyric theater: its standing room. And it was the spectators from this turbulent sector of the auditorium that opera houses gained political significance. The Constitutional Revolution in Brussels was brought about by the reaction of the audience of standees to Auber's The Mute of Portici while the choir of slaves in Verdi's Nabucco, launched a riot that eventually led to the re-unification of Italy

Opera houses today are playing down their dress codes and audiences tend to focus more on the on-stage action rather than on off-stage activities. It is also said that contemporary audiences may be more interested in the visual details of a production than in the actual singing. For the past 200 years, opera -goers' enjoyment, appreciation and taste have undergone many changes . The Barber Of Seville has remained a constant fixture in the programs of theaters and the hearts of audiences

F. Paul Driskoll, editor-in-chief of OPERA NEWS , the largest-circulation classical-music magazine in North America, concludes:

Celebrating our own 80th anniversary is an ideal opportunity to ponder on the 200-year-old successful course of The Barber of Seville. It is a timeless work that has never ceased to be prominent in the repertory of all major theaters with no exception. It is also a wonderful piece to introduce newcomers to opera. We have been covering the Barber consistently at the Metropolitan Opera as we've covered performances all over the world. And we're looking forward to covering many more in the future .

Having flown the flag for Italian Opera The Barber of Seville may be simultaneously performed in places as culturally different as Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Moscow, Madrid and Cape Town. Attendance is certain. It is ....recognizable by millions for what it represents. It is a brand gone global. Passion, Beautiful Singing, Showmanship,

CURTAIN CALL

It would be appropriate to conclude this tribute by returning to Italy and the legendary stage of Milan's La Scala where the 140th anniversary of The Barber of Seville was celebrated in 1956. One of the high points of the opera is the as scene known as Il Biglietto (The Note Scene )

Frustrated by the slow progress of the romance between Almaviva and Rosina , Figaro decides to take matters in his hands in order to precipitate the course of events. In this hilarious duet he is struggling to help Rosina overcome her shyness and declare, in writing, her love to Almaviva. Just as Figaro begins to boast of having convinced her to write the necessary note, Rosina casually fishes out of her cleavage a pre-written note addressed to Almaviva . Left pleasantly stunned for a few beats , Figaro says in mock relief "And I thought I was in control". Having agreed upon propelling the play toward its happy ending the two characters decide to celebrate this by launching into an extraordinary vocal duet. A blend of enthusiasm and positive thinking

Rossini is putting just the right amount of detail in order to add in the color. Every figuration, every tiny moment is perfectly balanced. Says Maestro Angus

This was also the favorite moment in the opera of the most glamorous interpreter of Rosina could ever get in her two-hundred-year history.

Coming from the real world of politics and intrigue, Queen Victoria was herself a passionate singer in her spare time, and a devoted Rossini fan. Her personal diaries are considered one of the most thorough accounts of the history of performance of Italian Opera in 19th century London.

She would repeatedly enact this scene with her teacher Luigi Lablache in the privacy of Balmoral Castle and, according to accounts, her performances were ebullient. "Albert" -the name of her beloved husband- would always be inscribed on the note that Queen Victoria extracted from her bosom .

VICTORIA AND ALBERT

Allan Sievewright, producer of many important operatic events among which several royal galas would say:

The celebrations of a royal jubilee year ( celebrating a special anniversary for the Royal Family such as for instance the 25th anniversary of a coronation) usually end with a gala performance featuring British ballet and opera stars at The Royal Opera House. Lo and behold the Note Duett will usually be included in such a program. The Barber of Seville is called upon to further reinforce the sense of continuity in the British Monarchy

If we were to define the branding of Italian Opera we safely conclude that it consist of a passionate love story, carried through with 'beautiful singing' and acting, requiring intricate stage direction and therefore a large enough stage using mostly grandiose theaters as venues. . Last but not least, one quality remains that blends all of the above together: Fun..! And fun translates into the most needed ingredient in today's society: well-being. For thanks to works such as The Barber of Seville people go to a performance of Italian Opera to have a good time and allow themselves to become transported by the plot, the sets and above all the great music.

The 1956 La Scala performance was conducted by one of classical music's super stars, Maestro Carlo Maria Giulini (then principal conductor of La Scala). Based on a conversation we had years ago, we can safely conclude with these comments by the Maestro:

Every once in a while you have the appearance of a very particular singer who instead of singing speaks the words. In such cases the voice travels through space and its harmonics naturally lock with the ones from the instruments of the orchestra. When this occurs, the whole house can be transported into a state of euphoria. In the cast of the 1956 Barber we didnt have one but two extremely idiosyncratic singers: Tito Gobbi and Maria Callas. In the famous duet, the one would say a phrase which the other would answer back, not just in perfect balance but also in perfect harmony. Tito would develop a spiraling line while Maria threaded her musical line straight through its middle. They did not sing the notes but filled the space between the notes. As the piece moved on I would sense from the podium the mounting enthusiasm from the audience. Maria was so excited by her collaboration with Tito she even allowed him to have what is regarded as a soprano's most prized possession : the closing high note of the piece- which as we know is the lasting impression left with the audience . We had fun, fun and more fun. And when thought we couldn't take any more........ we had even more fun!