The Barber of Seville (Paisiello) The Barber of Seville (Paisiello) Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile ("The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution") is a comic opera by Giovanni Paisiello from a libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini, even though his name is not identified on the score's title page. The opera was first performed on 26 September 1782 (old Russian calendar, 15 September) at the Imperial Court, Saint Petersburg. It was adapted from the play "Le Barbier de Séville" of Pierre Beaumarchais. The full title for the opera reads: ""Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La Precauzione inutile, dramma giocoso per musica tradotto liberamente
Gioachino Rossini use of an exciting buildup of orchestral sound over a repeated phrase, which is now commonly known as a "Rossini crescendo". Until his retirement in 1829, Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history. Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born into a family of musicians in Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic coast of Italy that was then part of the Papal States. His father, Giuseppe, was a horn player and inspector of slaughterhouses. His mother, Anna, was a singer and a baker's daughter. Rossini's father was sympathetic to the French Revolution and welcomed Napoleon's troops when they arrived