The Barber of Seville (1948 film) The Barber of Seville (1948 film) The Barber of Seville (French: Le Barbier de Séville) is a French film directed by Jean Loubignac released in 1948. It is a screen version of the 1816 opera by Rossini based on the play by Beaumarchais (in the translation by Castil-Blaze). Filmed at the Billancourt Studios it uses the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique production of the time. It was filmed in 1947, released in May 1948, and lasts around 95 minutes. The opera had been seen at all the principal lyric theatres in Paris; at the Salle Favart it had been performed over
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