Rossini and The Barber of Seville Gioachino Rossini, like many great composers, was born in the right place at the right time. The musical firmament was still mourning the passing of Wolfgang Mozart in 1792 when Rossini was born. His parents were both talented musicians, and young Gioachino was at the music conservatory at the age of 14. Rossini composed ten operas over the next seven years and established himself as a talented composer in the opera buffa style. This genre of comic opera was strikingly different from rigorous opera serie, but still managed to acquire some notable traits. First, the opera buffe arias escape the serious da capo style. The subject matter often deals with ordinary people in everyday situations, rather than the mythological gods of the series. The arias often incorporate patter singing, which contrasts strongly with the melismatic serious vocal melodies. The buffa style originated in Naples in the early 18th century and spread north through Rome and Bologna. Mozart's Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro are considered two paradigmatic examples of this style. Rossini was strongly influenced by Mozart's work, to the point that he defined the Viennese composer as “The admiration of my youth, the despair of my maturity, the consolation of my old age”. The Barber of Seville was initially the title of a 1782 work by Giovanni Paisiello. The librettist of Rossini's Barbiere based his text on Paisillo's opera, but changed the title to Almaviva, in homage to the original composer. The opening night of Rossini's 1816 opera has gained some notoriety. The event occurred nearly a week before Rossini's 34th birthday, and was reportedly a... form of paper... popular operatic in Rossini's time, and contained two stanzas followed by embellished variations. The first verse is in F major, and Rosina joins the count in introducing the second verse in C major. Figaro brings the theme back to F major while the lovers sing along with him. Ironically, the trio sings about a quick and silent escape, but fails to successfully retreat due to the number of strong repetitions and transitions composed by Rossini. Much of the comedy in Barbiere derives from Rossini's intelligent adaptation of musical forms and orchestration. His crescendo orchestrations, masterful setting of the text and development of aria forms allowed Rossini's work to flourish throughout Europe. The music and characteristics of his operas influenced a generation of Romantics and established a permanent home for Rossini in the history of opera..