Barber of Seville Overture
Gioacchino Rossini (arr. Lake)
The work may be found under its Italian title, Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
General Info
Year: 1816 / 1927
Duration: c. 9:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts - $90.00 | Score Only - $22.00
For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.
Instrumentation
Full Score
D-flat Piccolo
Flute I-II
Flute III/C Piccolo
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Bass Saxophone
Cornets Solo-I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
E-flat Horn I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass drum
- Crash cymbals
- Snare drum
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The Barber of Seville is considered Rossini's greatest and most popular work. It is in the form of Opera Buffa, and the story is from the [Pierre] Beaumarchais comedy, being the same which Mozart immortalized in The Marriage of Figaro. The first performance of the opera was given at Rome, February 5, 1816. The first American performance took place in New York in 1825. It is recorded that Rossini completed this opera in about fifteen days. The libretto was given to him in sections, and he wrote the music as fast as the verses were finished. The sparkling gaiety of the overture, together with its freshness and grace, help to make it a welcome addition to any program.
-Program Note from score
It is true that one of the world’s best known overtures was not originally written for the opera that it introduces. Rossini originally staged the opera under a different title in order to avoid confusion with a better known version of the Barber of Seville. During a revival a year later under its current title, Rossini reused the overture from his opera Aurelia in Palmyra for The Barber of Seville. Since Rossini did not use themes from the opera in his overtures, reusing material provided saving of time and effort for Rossini. Nonetheless, the Barber of Seville Overture dramatically sets the mood for an opera that Rossini described as ”the most beautiful opera buffa there is.”
- Program Notes from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music
Media
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Prince William Community Band (Woodbridge, Va.) (Jack Tilbury, conductor) - 23 October 2022
- Peninsula Community Band (Williamsburg, Va.) Ronnie Tong, conductor) – 16 November 2021
- Watsonville (Calif.) Community Band (Brad Gronroos, conductor) – 8 June 2018 (Golden Gate Park, San Francisco)
- CHE Bands – 20 May 2015
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- William Tell Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1829/2009)
- William Tell Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Thorp) (1829/2005)
All Wind Works
- Barber of Seville (arr. Meyrelles) (1816/1899)
- The Barber of Seville (arr. Williams) (1816/2005)
- Barber of Seville Overture (arr. Lake) (1816/1927)
- The Barber of Seville Overture (arr. Duthoit) (1816/1940)
- The Barber of Seville Overture (arr. Singleton) (1816/2002)
- Figaro in Stereo (adapt. Yoder) (1970)
- Il Barbiere di Siviglia (arr. Cesarini) (1816/2011)
- Inflammatis from "Stabat Mater" (arr. Laurendeau and Meyrelles) (1842/1911)
- Introduction, Theme and Variations (arr. Tamanini) (1819/2017)
- Italian en Argel
- Italian in Algiers (arr. Cailliet) (1952)
- La Boutique Fantasque (arr. Respighi; tr. Mahaffey) (2009)
- La Boutique Fantasque (adapt. Respighi; arr. Godfrey) (1922)
- La Cenerentola (arr. Daehn) (1817/2007)
- La Danza (arr. Erickson) (1835/1967)
- La Gazza Ladra (tr. Cailliet) (1817/1954)
- La Gazza Ladra (arr. Molenaar) (1817/2000)
- L'italiana in Algeri (tr. Sedlak; ed. Lonoce) (1813/1992)
- L'italiana in Algeri (tr. Van der Beek) (1813/2008)
- March for the Sultan Abdul Medjid (arr. Townsend) (1851/1967)
- Overture from the Opera "La Gazza Ladra" (arr. Oliver) (1817)
- Overture to "The Barber of Seville" (arr. Boll) (1816/2013)
- Overture to "The Barber of Seville" (arr. Sedlak) (1816/1983)
- Overture to "The Italian Girl in Algiers" (arr. Cailliet) (1813/1952)
- Overture to "The Italian Girl in Algiers" (tr. Mose-Tobani; arr. Laurendeau) (1813/1898/1947)
- Passo a sei (tr. Dunnigan)
- Scherzo for Band (scored by Schaefer) (1864/1977)
- Semiramide (arr. Safranek; ed. Robertson) (1823/1939)
- Soirées musicales (arr. Britten and Brown) (1830-1835/1946)
- String Quartet No. 1
- Tancredi Overture (tr. Falcone) (1813/1975)
- Three Marches for the Marriage of the Duke of Orléans (ed. Townsend) (1827/1972)
- Una Voce Poco Fa from "Barber of Seville" (arr. Barrow) (1816/1973)
- William Tell Overture (arr. anon) (1829)
- William Tell Overture (arr. Elkus) (1829/1988)
- William Tell Overture (arr. Griffin) (1829/)
- William Tell Overture (arr. Leidzen; ed. Fry) (1829/1938/2007)
- William Tell Overture (tr. Sousa and Schissel) (1829/2014)
- William Tell Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1829/2009)
- William Tell Overture (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Thorp) (1829/2005)
Resources
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Giacchino Rossini." Accessed 28 June 2015
- Rossini, G.; Lake, M. (1927). Barber of Seville. Overture [score]. [Carl Fischer]: [New York]