The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro is a sequel to The Barber of Seville. The story opens several years later, in Count Almaviva’s palace near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess, but her husband has lost much of his interest in her and is a would-be philanderer.

Figaro is in love with the Countess’s servant Susanna, who he plans to wed that very day. However, their employer Count Almaviva has his eye on Susanna. In fact, the Count intends to invoke the hated feudal practice of droit de seigneur—the infamous right of the lord to sleep with a commoner’s bride on her wedding night.

Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess are understandably outraged at this possibility, and are determined not only to prevent it, but to teach the Count a lesson.