Barbier de Séville, Le (1775). Prose comedy in four acts by Beaumarchais. Set in Seville, it reworks the themes and characters of Molière's L' École des femmes and Le Sicilien: Doctor Bartholo, intent on marrying Rosine, his ward, keeps her jealously locked away from the world. The young Count Almaviva, having however caught sight of Rosine on her balcony, has fallen under her spell. The whole play revolves around the intrigues successfully woven by the supremely resourceful Figaro (formerly Almaviva's valet and now the eponymous barber) to ensure the young couple's marriage.
[John Renwick]
