The Barber of Seville
The most riotous comedy in opera — with a factotum barber and disguises at every turn
The Count is in love with Rosina, who lives under lock and key in the house of her old guardian Don Bartolo. He meets Figaro, who proposes a plan: as barber, he comes and goes from that house every day — he can help. First attempt: the Count disguises himself as a drunk soldier billeted on Bartolo's house. Total chaos ensues.
Second disguise: the Count presents himself as a substitute for Rosina's music teacher. He manages to speak with her, to declare himself. Bartolo suspects everyone. In the finale, the Count and Rosina elope by night with Figaro's help. When Bartolo arrives with the notary to marry her, he discovers the two are already married — with that same notary, half an hour earlier.
Everyone is happy — except Bartolo, who consoled himself quickly enough. Rossini was like that: pure comedy, without shadows. A breath of fresh air amid all the tragedies of the operatic repertoire.