"Welcome to my shop. Let me cut your mop. Let me shave your crop. Daintily, daintily..." If Bugs Bunny singing the Rabbit of Seville was your entrée into the world of opera, Saturday Afternoon at the Opera has a treat in store for you.

Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Gioacchino Rossini's comic masterpiece Il Barbiere di Seviglia (The Barber of Seville) will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network on Saturday Feb. 19.

The production stars Rodion Pogossov as Figaro, the barber and jack-of-all-trades who helps bring two lovers together. Soprano Diana Damrau is the spirited heroine Rosina, and rising South African tenor Colin Lee makes his Met role debut as Count Almaviva, the nobleman who disguises himself to win Rosina's heart. John Del Carlo is Rosina's guardian, Dr. Bartolo, and Ferruccio Furlanetto is his co-conspirator, the music teacher Don Basilio. Marco Armiliato conducts the performance, staged by the Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, 2008). A synopsis can be found online from the Met.

What makes The Barber so much fun? There are loads of great tunes, including Largo al factotum , (the one that has "Figaro here, Figaro there, Figaro Up, Figaro down..."). That particular number was also covered by the Singing Frog in another classic Chuck Jones cartoon.

Another highlight is Rosina's Act 1 showpiece Una voce poco fa (A voice has just echoed here into my heart). Rossini was not entirely pleased with the tendency of singers to take an aria and overly decorate the melody - so much so that he once quipped "What a pretty song. I wonder who wrote it?"

Even Beethoven was a fan of The Barber, except for the fact that the Viennese were whistling its tunes in the street instead of his own. As operas go, The Barber of Seville is hard to beat, and even harder to resist. Care to add your thoughts on which operas top it in popularity? Here's a brief bit of Bugs and Elmer Fudd from a recent rendition with the Vancouver Symphony. Enjoy!

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posted by Matthew Baird on Feb 15, 2012