The Overture to The Barber of Seville ("Il barbiere di Siviglia") by Gioacchino Rossini is one of the most famous and recognizable orchestral introductions in classical music. Interestingly, none of the overture’s themes actually appear later in the opera itself. Rossini recycled the music from earlier works, a common practice for him, making the overture more of an independent concert piece than a musical preview of the opera’s melodies.

Instrumentation:

• E-Flat Clarinet
• 4 B-Flat Clarinets
• Alto Clarinet/Basset Horn/Clarinet 5
• Bass Clarinet
• Contrabass Clarinet/Contralto/String Bass

Optional Percussion:

• Timpani