Written in less than three weeks (20 days), the opera J. Rosini based the opera on one of the three plays about Figaro by the French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, written at the end of the 18th century. It is generally agreed that The Barber of Seville is the finest example of J. Rosini's opera buffa and one of the best operas of this genre in general. It premiered to great acclaim in Rome in February 1816 and remains one of the best-loved comedies on opera stages around the world to this day.

After a hugely successful performance in 2024, G. Bizet's Carmen, mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina from Bashkortostan, not yet 30, returns to the Metropolitan stage in Bartlett Sher's crazy new production of The Barber of Seville, starring as the charming Rosina. Her guardian, Doctor Bartol, will be played by Hungarian bass-baritone Peter Kálmán, while Rosina's secret lover, Count Almaviva, will be played by American tenor Jack Swanson, making his Metropolitan debut. The role of Figaro, the ubiquitous barber who takes care of all the business, goes to Moldovan-born baritone Andrei Zilichovsky.