a break. Continue your walk towards the river and cross the bridge to the Triana neighbourhood, which used to be home to hidden taverns where seguidilla were sung and smugglers gathered. Finally, the opera’s tragic conclusion takes you to the entrance of the Real Maestranza Bullring. With its distinctive ochre-and-white fa- cade, this 18 th -century bullfighting are- na marks the spot where Don José killed Carmen while the crowd cheered for Es- camillo within the arena. Triumph of the spirit of Seville and an architectural illusion Fourteen years before Bizet’s birth, in 1816, another composer, this one in Rome, also left an indelible mark on Se- ville. Incredibly, it took just 13 days for the then 24-year-old Italian genius Gio- achino Rossini to compose The Barber of Seville. Based on the first play of French writer Pierre Beaumarchais’s famous tril- ogy, this opera marks the pinnacle of the opera buffa (comic opera) style. The plot tells the story of Count Almaviva, who is in love and attempts to save the beauti- ful and wealthy young Rosina from her greedy guardian, Doctor Bartolo, who wants to marry her for her inheritance. Almaviva isn’t alone in this fight, as he calls on the help of Figaro, a shrewd, de- fiant barber who manages to bring the young lovers together. Rossini’s Seville is sunny, dynamic, filled with murmuring streets and pri- vate intrigue behind wooden shutters. However, when today’s visitors seek out the so-called House of Figaro on the fairytale Plaza Alfaro at the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Santa Cruz, it is important for them to understand one thing: Figaro is a fictional charac- ter whose house never physically exist- ed. What is fascinating is how Seville accepted this illusion. Alfaro Square, with its houses that sport wrought iron balconies, provides the perfect ar- chitectural setting that fully match- es the description in the libretto. Walk- ing through this labyrinth, where the streets are deliberately designed to be so narrow that neighbours from oppo- site balconies can almost shake hands, you will easily imagine Count Almavi- va serenading Rosina under the ochre walls while Figaro dictates his next move from the shadows.
From Beaumarchais’s sequel to the victory of freedom Decades before Rossini composed his comedy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had already covered the same literary world. Beaumarchais wrote a sequel to the sto- ry of Figaro, which Mozart transformed into The Marriage of Figaro. In this op- era, Count Almaviva and Rosina are al- ready married, but the plot focuses on Fi- garo himself and his fiancée Susanna. The story moves from the city to the count’s Aguas-Frescas estate on the outskirts of Seville. Despite this country estate being a figment of the author’s imagination, to- day’s visitors can best get a sense of the spirit of that time by visiting the sumptu- ous Palacio de San Telmo, with its monu- mental baroque façade and gardens. Mozart’s fascination with Spain cul- minated in his operatic masterpiece Don Giovanni. The plot revolves around a legendary seducer who sows unrest, fraud and death around the streets of Seville, until a statue of the murdered Commendatore drags him to hell. To experience this dark and dramatic side of Seville, a visit to the Casa de Pila- tos palace is a must. With its fascinat- ing blend of Renaissance and Mudéjar styles, this palace is a perfect exam- ple of the Sevillian noble residence that Mozart had in mind. The map of Seville opera also ex- tends to German classicism through Fi- delio, Ludwig van Beethoven’s only op- era. Beethoven set his drama about loyalty, sacrifice and the struggle against political tyranny in a Spanish state pris- on located close to Seville. Despite the story being set in a prison situated be- yond the city, visitors can best find an as- sociation with the dark atmosphere of
the dungeon and Seville’s history of po- litical imprisonment at the Triana neigh- bourhood’s Castillo de San Jorge. This medieval fortress occupying the river- bank was the notorious headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition for centuries, and to this very day its halls echo with the spirit of Beethoven’s struggle for freedom and justice. Temple of music on the banks of the Guadalquivir Finally, does a city with this much opera heritage have an opera house wor- thy of that legacy? Absolutely! It is the Teatro de la Maestranza, which is locat- ed on the banks of the Guadalquivir. Al- though Seville has an opera tradition that dates back centuries, the building of the Tetro de la Maestranza brought a com- pletely new dimension to the city’s cul- tural life when it opened in the 1990s. The architects ingeniously integrated a modern glass and steel rotunda with- in the preserved façade of an old military barracks and artillery fortification dating back to the 18 th century. The auditorium can accommodate around 1,800 spectators and is consid- ered one of the most acoustically per- fect in Europe, as its dome is designed to transmit with equal clarity the quiet- est tone of a violin and the force of a full symphony orchestra. Unlike the general repertoires that are followed by many of the world’s opera houses, the Maestran- za has a constant mission to regularly stage works that are tied to the city itself. Watching Bizet’s Carmen in a hall located just a few hundred metres from the for- mer Tobacco Factory featured in the sto- ry is something that can’t be experienced anywhere else in the world.
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