b'Program NotescontinuedGioachino Rossini (1792-1868) Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)Overture Una voce poco faComposed 1816Thanks to its appearance in a few American classic TV shows, Woody Woodpecker in 1944, Bugs Bunny in 1949, and even Seinfeld in 1993, The Barber of Seville Overture has become one of the most recognizable opera overtures to find itself embedded in the public psyche.This overture was not composed specifically for the opera with which is it popularly associated. It was actually recycled from two of Rossinis previously composed operas, Aureliano in Palmira and Elizabeth, Queen of England. Even still, the overture remains to this day inextricably attached to this opera.The main character is Figaro, a talented, working-class jack-of-all-trades, who originated from a trilogy of plays, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Guilty Mother, written by French author Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais.All three plays were subsequently turned into operas, with The Barber of Seville being reimagined by multiple composers. On a related note, one would not be mistaken to wonder if this Figaro is in any way related to the one who appears in Mozarts famed work The Marriage of Figaro, written 30 years earlier. In fact, it is the very same character.The premiere of Rossinis opera in 1816 was quite unsuccessful, to say the least, due to a number of factors including singers knocking over precariously placed props and falling into trap doors. One singer even tripped and fell, and continued to sing with a bloody nose.Even with all of that, its unsuccessful premiere could be said to have been Rossinis own doing in some way. At the time, there was a far more popular setting of the story by Giovanni Paisiello, who had achieved operatic rockstar status, and whose most dedicated followers showed up to Rossinis premiere to heckle the composer and his singers. Embarrassed, Rossini left the theater before the curtain calls. Despite this, the opera eventually made its way'