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
Armida (Rossini) Armida (Rossini) Armida is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto ("dramma per musica") by Giovanni Schmidt, based on scenes from "Gerusalemme liberata" by Torquato Tasso. "Armida" was written to be performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 11 November 1817 to celebrate the opening of the rebuilt opera house, which had been destroyed by fire the previous year. Isabella Colbran sang the title role, which is one of the longest and most demanding that Rossini wrote, with difficult coloratura passages of every kind during the entire opera. The most notable