from Act I, Scene II of the Italian opera
Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioacchino Rossini
Libretto: Cesare Sterbini
Role: Don Basilio, a music teacher
Voice Part: bass Fach: buffo bass
Setting: A room in Dr. Bartolo's house
Synopsis: Don Basilio informs Dr. Bartolo that Almaviva is Rosina's new lover. He suggests a plan to discredit him by calumny - vicious gossip. Basilio describes the vast array of gossip that he can drag up and amplify.