In the late 18th century in Europe, change was in the air. The upstart American colonies had already given England a run for its money; and now, there were murmurings of revolution in France. That was far too close for comfort for many in positions of power.

It was at this time that dramatist Pierre de Beaumarchais arrived on the scene. His trilogy of class-conscious, comic plays put him on the map. He was already personally notorious for various legal and financial intrigues. With his set of Figaro plays, he became famous for his literary intrigues, as well -- and those were all based on real life. Beaumarchaius based the character of Figaro on himself. The lowly barber is witty, shrewd, fun-loving, and philosophical -- these were all attributes the playwright shared, or at least he thought he did.

The first play in the series, The Barber of Seville, took a while to get off the ground, because Beaumarchais put too much of himself in it. But he quickly polished it up, and it was a hit. Then came The Marriage of Figaro, which really sparkled -- so much that it not only won legions of fans in France, but it also displeased King Louis XVI. The king did not care for this story about common servants besting their aristocratic masters, and the whole thing even got Beaumarchais imprisoned for a time. Though we know these plays best through the operas of Rossini and Mozart, they have been performed in France in their original form for centuries.

But Mozart and Rossini weren't the only composers inspired by Beaumarchais. Giovanni Paisiello, one of the most successful and influential composers of the day, also got in on the act. His misfortune was that he did this 30 years before Rossini came along and turned The Barber of Seville into one of the greatest and most popular operas ever composed. Still, in its day, Paisiello's Barber was immensely popular. Between 1783 and 1804, it received almost 100 performances in Vienna alone.

We hear Paisiello's opera today, in a production from the National Theater in Brussels.