Overview
Opera lovers greatly anticipate this annual event! The Paphos Aphrodite Festival brings the Paphos harbour to life using the harbour’s medieval castle, the sea and the open-air square of the castle as a backdrop. Every year, the festival invites a well-known opera troupe that performs outstanding representations of classical operas.
This year, the 20th Pafos Aphrodite Festival opens its curtain with Gioachino Rossini’s masterpiece Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The barber of Seville) in a production by the Italian organisation C.I.A.L.M. – Teatro Lirico Italiano in collaboration with the Ventidio Basso Ascoli Piceno Theatre and the participation of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The barber of Seville) is an opera buffa in two acts with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais’s homonymous theatrical trilogy, Le Barbier de Séville (1775).
The première of Rossini’s opera (under the title Il Barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L’ inutile precauzione – The barber of Seville or The useless precaution) took place on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, in Rome.
It constitutes a masterpiece of the operatic repertoire with a joyful mood, bursting with lovely melodies and arias, vividness and musical improvisations. Rossini completed the composition and orchestration of the opera as well in just 24 days, which is considered record time even for that era.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The barber of Seville): The plot
The plot of the opera unfolds in 17th century Seville. The resourceful Figaro, the barber of Seville, agrees to help Count Almaviva win the heart of Rosina. Doctor Bartolo, the guardian of Rosina, plans to marry Rosina himself and hence tries to prevent the couple from falling in love with each other using various tricks. In the end, however, Count Almaviva manages to trick doctor Bartolo and marry his beloved Rosina.
Ticket Prices: €25, €40, €50 and €70. There will be a simultaneous translation in Greek, English and Russian via subtitles.
In the past, operas such as Verdi’s La Traviata and Aida, Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini’s Turandot have been beautifully performed.
Launched in 1999, the Paphos Aphrodite Festival has become a prime event on the island.
