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
Opera Pacific in the Festival of Opera." The first productions included such traditional repertory as "Madame Butterfly", "The Marriage of Figaro", and "The Barber of Seville"; "I Pagliacci" and "The Devil and Daniel Webster" were presented as a double billing during the 1965 season. In the early 1980s members of the "Opera Leaque", along with other opera aficionados throughout Orange County, combined to form the core audience for the anticipated opening of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in neighboring Costa Mesa, at which time Opera Pacific was incorporated. Opera Pacific has been host to many of opera's greatest living legends, including