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
Victoria State Opera rivalled those of the Australian Opera given in the same space. At its height, the VSO had over 13,000 season subscribers. In 1985 Brian Stacey was appointed as Head of Music. Other notable production highlights include appearances by Suzanne Steele, most notably in the lead role of "La belle Hélène" and as Eurydice in "Orpheus in the Underworld". There were also "Don Giovanni", "Tannhäuser", "The Pearl Fishers" (which toured to Sydney), "The Tales of Hoffmann", "Faust", "Aida", "Il trovatore", "The Barber of Seville", "The Magic Flute", "Andrea Chénier", "Turandot", "Madama Butterfly" (the traditional production by Andrew Sinclair or the Ken