The Barber of Seville (play) resigns himself. As a consolation he is given Rosine's dowry money to keep. Giovanni Paisiello's opera based on the play was first performed in 1782, but it is Gioachino Rossini's opera, "The Barber of Seville", premiered in 1816, that has better stood the test of time. Other lesser-known adaptions include those by Nicolas Isouard in 1796, Alexander Reinagle and Samuel Arnold in 1794, and Francesco Morlacchi in 1816. Figaro is inspired by the Commedia dell'arte character of Brighella, and like his predecessor he is a clever liar; moral and yet unscrupulous; good humored, helpful and brave, though somewhat embittered and
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