The Ballad of Figaro - I am a busy man in town

(from the opera "The Barber of Seville")

[ Italian] Rossini

The opera "The Barber of Seville" is the third in the "Figaro Trilogy" by the Italian playwright Stelbini based on the French playwright Beaumarchais's play "The Barber of Seville". The story of part one was compiled into an opera libretto, composed by Rossini in 1815.

Mozart first used the second part of the "Figaro Trilogy" to compose the opera "The Marriage of Figaro" in 1876. Thirty years later, Rossini used the first part to compose the opera. "The Barber of Seville" became an opera, but the story that happened in the play preceded "The Marriage of Figaro", which is also very interesting.

Figaro is a barber in Seville, Spain. He is smart, lively, popular and has a humorous personality. In this play, the beautiful girl Rosina fell in love with a young man named Lindolo, but Rosina's supervisor, Dr. Bartolo, also wanted to marry her, so he controlled Rosina very strictly. This young man named Lindolo is actually Count Almaviva. In order to fall in love with Rosina, he turns to Figaro for help. Figaro asked him to dress up as a drunken soldier for a while; then he asked him to dress up as a music teacher and go to Rosina's house to meet her, and finally made this happy marriage.

"I am a busy man in town" is a ballad sung by Figaro when he appears in the first act. It has a brisk pace and witty content. In this ballad, Figaro tells the audience that he is a busy man in the city. Not only does he have to give people haircuts, but he also has to beat people's backs, run errands and deliver letters, and take care of many chores. He is called here and called there. Everyone needs him. Although he was extremely busy, he was able to arrange everything in an orderly manner and satisfy everyone.

This ballad is in the key of C major, in 6/8 time, and the speed is very fast. There is a prelude of 20 measures in front, which is joyful and interesting, and serves as a background for Figaro's appearance. When Figaro appeared on the stage with his guitar in his arms, he first sang a long section with a "la la" sound, and the band echoed it, reflecting his lively personality and happy mood. Then he started talking like a barrage of words about how busy he was, how he was proficient in his business, and how popular he was. The tune uses a lot of eighth notes. In the middle, for the sake of color change, there is a section that changes to E flat major, but soon returns to C major. At the end, he comically imitates the sounds of various people calling him and Figaro's answers. , the performance is very lively and interesting, and can achieve excellent performance results. This song has several versions due to different translators.

The Ballad of Figaro - I am a busy man in the city