Rossini’s effervescent comedy retakes the stage in Bartlett Sher’s madcap production.

Two star mezzo-sopranos—Isabel Leonard and Aigul Akhmetshina—headline a winning ensemble as the feisty heroine, Rosina, alongside high-flying tenors Lawrence Brownlee and Jack Swanson, in his Met debut, as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Baritones Davide Luciano and Andrey Zhilikhovsky star as Figaro, the infamous barber of Seville, with baritone Nicola Alaimo and bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and bass Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio rounding out the principal cast. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts.

World premiere: Teatro Argentina, Rome, 1816. Rossini’s perfectly honed treasure survived a famously disastrous opening night (caused by factions and local politics more than any reaction to the work itself) to become what may be the world’s most popular comic opera. Its buoyant good humor and elegant melodies have delighted the diverse tastes of every generation for two centuries, and several of the opera’s most recognizable tunes have entered the world’s musical unconscious, most notably the introductory patter song of the swaggering Figaro, the titular barber of Seville.World premiere: Teatro Argentina, Rome, 1816. Rossini’s perfectly honed treasure survived a famously disastrous opening night (caused by factions and local politics more than any reaction to the work itself) to become what may be the world’s most popular comic opera. Its buoyant good humor and elegant melodies have delighted the diverse tastes of every generation for two centuries, and several of the opera’s most recognizable tunes have entered the world’s musical unconscious, most notably the introductory patter song of the swaggering Figaro, the titular barber of Seville.

Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was the world’s foremost opera composer in his day. Over the course of just two decades, he created more than 30 works, both comic and tragic, before retiring from opera composition at the age of 37. Cesare Sterbini (1784–1831) was an official of the Vatican treasury and a poet whose literary fame rests squarely on Barbiere. Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–99) was the author of the three subversive Figaro plays, of which Le Barbier de Séville (1775) was the first.Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was the world’s foremost opera composer in his day. Over the course of just two decades, he created more than 30 works, both comic and tragic, before retiring from opera composition at the age of 37. Cesare Sterbini (1784–1831) was an official of the Vatican treasury and a poet whose literary fame rests squarely on Barbiere. Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–99) was the author of the three subversive Figaro plays, of which Le Barbier de Séville (1775) was the first.

Seville is both a beautiful city and something of a mythical Neverland for dramatists and opera composers. The Don Juan legend has its origins in Seville, and some of the steamiest operas (such as Bizet’s Carmen) make their home in this most beguiling of cities. Beaumarchais’s play was revolutionary: Set “in the present day,” which meant just before the French Revolution, the work unveiled the hypocrisies of powerful people and the sneaky methods that workers devise to deal with them.Seville is both a beautiful city and something of a mythical Neverland for dramatists and opera composers. The Don Juan legend has its origins in Seville, and some of the steamiest operas (such as Bizet’s Carmen) make their home in this most beguiling of cities. Beaumarchais’s play was revolutionary: Set “in the present day,” which meant just before the French Revolution, the work unveiled the hypocrisies of powerful people and the sneaky methods that workers devise to deal with them.

The paradox of Rossini’s music is that the comedy can soar only with disciplined mastery of vocal technique. The singers must be capable of long vocal lines of attention-holding beauty as well as the rapid runs of coloratura singing. The score features solos of astounding speed in comic, tongue-twisting patter forms, especially the title role’s well-known Act I showstopper, “Largo al factotum.” Beyond the brilliant solos, the singers must blend well with one another in the complex ensembles that occur throughout the opera.The paradox of Rossini’s music is that the comedy can soar only with disciplined mastery of vocal technique. The singers must be capable of long vocal lines of attention-holding beauty as well as the rapid runs of coloratura singing. The score features solos of astounding speed in comic, tongue-twisting patter forms, especially the title role’s well-known Act I showstopper, “Largo al factotum.” Beyond the brilliant solos, the singers must blend well with one another in the complex ensembles that occur throughout the opera.

Please note that video cameras will be in operation during the May 27 and May 31 performances as part of the Met’s Live in HD series of cinema transmissions.

Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund

Revival a gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation