The Works of Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais

This collection has The Barber of Seville & The Marriage of Figaro. The Marriage of Figaro is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. In the first play, The Barber, the story begins with a simple love triangle in which a Spanish count has fallen in love with a girl called Rosine. He disguises himself to ensure that she will love him back for his character, not his wallet. But, this is all foiled when Rosine’s guardian, Doctor Bartholo, puts her on “house arrest” so that he will have her hand in marriage. The Count runs into an ex-servant (now a barber) of his, Figaro, and pressures him into setting up a meeting between the Count and Rosine. He succeeds and the love birds are married to end the first part of the trilogy. The Marriage was written as a sequel to The Barber.