BLOG: The Barber in Pop Culture
Where have I heard The Barber of Seville before?
A definitive list of pop culture references to Rossini’s famous comedy
It’s been said that Gioachino Rossini required less than one month to compose his famous comedy The Barber of Seville. It’s an amazing feat by any stretch, especially considering the legacy that the opera continues to have in popular culture. Referenced in TV and movies ranging from Looney Tunes to Citizen Kane (just to name a few), Rossini’s score is full of absolute classics that have truly stood the test of time—after all, as the composer himself once put it, “the language of music is common to all generations and nations.”
Below are just a few of the places you might have heard the music of The Barber of Seville:
1. Looney Tunes – “The Rabbit of Seville” (1950)
Set to the opera’s ear-worm of an overture, an unsuspecting Elmer Fudd arrives at the barbershop where he receives an extremely extensive and eclectic beauty treatment, courtesy of Bugs Bunny.
2. Looney Tunes – “Long-Haired Hare” (1949)
Figaro’s famous aria “Largo al factotum” was used many, many times on Looney Tunes, so picking just one example is difficult. However, you can’t go wrong with Bugs Bunny’s repeated interruptions of opera superstar Giovanni Jones as he attempts to rehearse for his big performance.
3. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
The makeup team for this 1993 hit won an Oscar for their work in transforming Robin Williams into a Scottish nanny, but before all of that, the film opens on a recording studio, with the talented Williams performing “Largo al factotum” in the guise of a cartoon bird. And yes, he actually sang!
4. Citizen Kane (1941)
Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane was initially controversial for being a thinly-veiled critique of media magnate William Randolph Hearst. The film follows the life and exploits of the fictional Charles Foster Kane, including a misguided attempt to turn his wife, played by Dorothy Comingore, into an opera star. In the clip below, she works her way through Rosina’s aria “Una poco voce fa.”
5. Seinfeld – “The Barber” (1993)
In the eighth episode of season five, Jerry goes out on a limb and tries out a new barber—it doesn’t go well. The soundtrack? The overture to The Barber of Seville (obviously).
6. Family Guy – “Dog Gone” (2009)
This one is very brief…but we’re counting it anyway. The eighth episode of season eight of centers around Brian’s crisis of confidence stemming from online reactions to his book. Chaos ensues, necessitating a disclaimer at the very end of the episode to let the audience know that “no animals were harmed in the making of this episode.” They will, however, hurt the feelings of an Italian opera singer (voiced by Nathan Gunn) by dropping the curtain on his performance of—you guessed it—“Largo al factotum.”
Found a reference that we might have missed? Reach out via social to let us know! And in the meantime, don’t forget to get your tickets to MN Opera’s production of The Barber of Seville, running May 3-18 at the Ordway in downtown Saint Paul.