The 81st Season comes to a jubilant close with the return of The Barber of Seville, Gioachino Rossini’s riotously funny comic masterpiece, at Bass Performance Hall. A Fort Worth favorite that last had audiences rolling in the aisles in 2016, Barber returns in a vibrant new production bursting with quicksilver wit, buoyant physical comedy, and some of the most instantly recognizable music ever written for the stage.

 

Since its premiere, Rossini’s Barber of Seville has become one of the most frequently performed operas in the world—and it’s clear from the opening notes of the overture. Drawing inspiration from Pierre Beaumarchais’ razor-sharp comedy, Cesare Sterbini’s sparkling libretto and Rossini’s effervescent score deliver nonstop comic invention: disguises pile up, plans unravel, and laughter comes fast and often. As the Minnesota Star Tribune raved, it’s “a delirious joy…a burst of sumptuous music [and] gales of laughter.”

 

Visionary director Chuck Hudson brings this timeless farce roaring to life with a high-spirited, fast-paced staging that leans into the opera’s physical comedy and irresistible momentum—fresh, funny, and endlessly entertaining for first-time operagoers and seasoned fans alike.

 

The production also marks the return of renowned conductor Christian Capocaccia to the Fort Worth Opera podium. After earning acclaim for his “amazing precision and nuance” in last season’s La Cenerentola, Capocaccia reunites with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, shaping Rossini’s effervescent score with clarity, agility, and an ear finely tuned to the fantastic cast of singers (The Dallas Morning News).

 

At the heart of the mischief is the quick-thinking barber, Figaro, sung by Fort Worth native Michael Adams, a Metropolitan Opera and Santa Fe Opera favorite making a triumphant return to Fort Worth Opera. The clever and charismatic Rosina is portrayed by Winona Martin, the 2025 Marguerite McCammon Voice Competition winner, whose sparkling mezzo-soprano brings charm, intelligence, and resolve to the role. Prize-winning tenor Minghao Lu appears as the lovestruck Count Almaviva, whose romantic disguises gleefully set the plot in motion.

 

Standing in their way—firmly and foolishly—is Rosina’s conniving guardian Dr. Bartolo, sung by renowned basso buffo Kevin Glavin, alongside the deliciously meddlesome Don Basilio, portrayed by William Guanbo Su, a 2023 McCammon winner. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Emily Pulley adds bite and sparkle as the sharp-tongued maid Berta, with beloved local baritone Fred Craven appearing as Fiorello, Count Almaviva’s ever-loyal servant.

 

With its whirlwind pacing, virtuosic vocal fireworks, and laugh-out-loud comedy, The Barber of Seville is opera at its most joyful—an exuberant season finale that proves why Rossini’s beloved comedy has delighted audiences for more than two centuries.