Seville Spain, after the royal residence El Escorial. Since the 1950s it has been the seat of the rectorate of the University of Seville, together with the Schools of Law, Philology, Geography and History. In 2012, a study of experts concluded the total number of operas set in Seville is 153. Among the most popular composers who fell in love with the city are Beethoven "(Fidelio)", Mozart "(The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni)", Rossini "(The Barber of Seville)", Donizetti "(La favorite)", and Bizet "(Carmen)". Seville became the dean of the Spanish provincial press in 1758 with the publication of its
Michigan Opera Theatre Maria Ewing who sang in the 1970 "The Barber of Seville" production; Leona Mitchell, who sang Bess in the company's 1975 production of "Porgy and Bess"; Kathleen Battle, whose 1975 performance as Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" marked her operatic debut; Catherine Malfitano, who created the role of Catherine Sloper in MOT's world premiere staging of "Washington Square" in 1976. Other notable artists include The Metropolitan Opera's Jerome Hines, a bass, who in 1974 sang the title role of "Boris Godunov"; Nicole Cabell who sang Musetta in "La bohème" in 2005, a few months after winning the BBC Cardiff