The Barber of Seville (1944 film) Culhane later called "The Barber of Seville" "one of my most satisfying achievements as a director". By 1944, Rossini's opera was a staple of American cartoon humor, with a noted earlier use in the "Looney Tunes" short "Notes to You" (1941) starring Porky Pig. Later cartoons to parody Rossini's music include "Rabbit of Seville" (Warner Bros.), "Kitty Foiled" (MGM), and "Magical Maestro" (MGM). In 1994, "The Barber of Seville" was voted #43 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time, as voted by 1000 animation professionals and edited by Jerry Beck. It is the only "Woody Woodpecker" entry included in
The Barber of Seville (play) cynical. As he says in "The Barber of Seville": "I must force myself to laugh at everything lest I be obliged to weep." Though he is normally calm, collected and intelligent, he can be irrational when angered. The name 'Figaro' was invented by Beaumarchais for this character, and it has been theorized by Frédéric Grendel that it is made from a phonetic transcription of the words "fils Caron" (Caron having been the given surname of the playwright.) The role was created in "The Barber of Seville" by Beaumarchais's friend Préville. However, when "The Marriage of Figaro" went into production almost