The Barber in English this Xmas

The Met Opera will stage Rossini's The Barber of Seville in English for the first time ever this Christmas. Performed countless times by the company before in its original Italian, a more family friendly staging was thought more appropriate for this festive season. Comic operas (a genre of which Barber is maybe the pinnacle) always work better in translation, as so much of the humour is derived from wordplay and character misunderstandings. And they had Bartlett Sher's effervescent staging from 2006 to work from. The opera will play in a reduced from, and is the perfect introduction to the artform for the little ones.

First peformed in 1816, The Barber of Seville follows the madcap exploits of Count Almavira and his servant Figaro as they try to steal the beautiful Rosina out from under the nose of her guardian (and proposed future husband) Bartolo.