Largo al factotum
Encyclopedia
Largo al factotum is an aria
from The Barber of Seville
by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character; the repeated "Figaro"s before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of operatic singing. The term "factotum" refers to a general servant and comes from the Latin where it literally means "do everything."
Due to the constant singing of triplets in 6/8 meter at an allegro vivace tempo the piece is often noted as one of the most difficult baritone
arias to perform. This, along with the tongue-twisting nature of some of the lines, insisting on Italian superlatives (always ending in '-issimo'), have made it a pièce de résistance
in which a skilled baritone has the chance to highlight all of his qualities.
starring Woody Woodpecker
(The Barber of Seville
), Bugs Bunny
(Rabbit of Seville
and Long-Haired Hare
), Porky Pig
and Daffy Duck
(You Ought to Be in Pictures
), Sylvester the cat (Back Alley Oproar
) Tom and Jerry
(The Cat Above and the Mouse Below
), as well as in Tex Avery
's Magical Maestro
and Warner Bros' One Froggy Evening
.
"Largo al factotum" was also used as the base in the final section of the Italian cartoon, "Opera" by Bozzetto and Manuli.
It has also been parodied in Latin America by the famous Mexican TV show "El Chavo del Ocho" (The kid from apartment eight), where one of the neighbors, the ever unemployed and unemployable Don Ramón (played by the late Ramón Valdés) gets a job as a hairdresser. The scene at the barber shop begins with him doing a haircut to a customer and singing "Figaro, figaro, figaro, figaro, figaro" in a clear reference to "Largo al factotum".
Largo al factotum is sung by a mustached baritone, a stop-motion animated clay figure, in the opening credits of the 1991 film Oscar
(performed by Earle Patriarco), and by an animated bird in the opening credits of the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire
(sung by actor Robin Williams
).
Singer-songwriter Mika
has admitted that the tune of his hit song "Grace Kelly
" is based on "Largo al factotum."
The Italian band Elio e le Storie Tese
performed a rock version of this song on the Festival di Sanremo stage in 2008, dressed in XVIII-century style.
In the Tom and Jerry
episode The Cat Above and the Mouse Below
, Tom sings "Figaro", but when he is singing faster, Jerry aims a plunger on Tom's mouth.
Prince Poppycock
performed this at his audition in season 5 of America's Got Talent
and stunned the judges and audience with his rendition. His outrageous clothes and makeup led the people to prejudge the performance. Expecting a disaster, instead they found the 3rd runner-up of Season 5.
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
from The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character; the repeated "Figaro"s before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of operatic singing. The term "factotum" refers to a general servant and comes from the Latin where it literally means "do everything."
Due to the constant singing of triplets in 6/8 meter at an allegro vivace tempo the piece is often noted as one of the most difficult baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
arias to perform. This, along with the tongue-twisting nature of some of the lines, insisting on Italian superlatives (always ending in '-issimo'), have made it a pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance is a French term , translated into English literally as "piece of resistance," referring to the best part or feature of something , a showpiece, or highlight. It can be thought of as the portion of a creation which defies Pièce de résistance is a French term (circa 1839),...
in which a skilled baritone has the chance to highlight all of his qualities.
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In popular culture
The overture and Largo al factotum have been famously parodied in animated cartoonsAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
starring Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
(The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville (cartoon)
The Barber of Seville is the 10th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on April 22, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.-Plot:...
), Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
(Rabbit of Seville
Rabbit of Seville
Rabbit of Seville is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1950. It was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese....
and Long-Haired Hare
Long-Haired Hare
Long-Haired Hare is a 1948 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1949, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. In addition to including the homophones "hair" and "hare", the title is also a pun on "longhairs", a characterization of classical music lovers...
), Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
and Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
(You Ought to Be in Pictures
You Ought to Be in Pictures
You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short film featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. The film combined live-action and animation, and features live-action appearances by Leon Schlesinger, writer Michael Maltese, and other Schlesinger Productions staff members. In 1994 it...
), Sylvester the cat (Back Alley Oproar
Back Alley Oproar
Back Alley Oproar is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short originally released in theaters on March 27, 1948. The short features Sylvester and Elmer Fudd as its main characters, voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan respectively...
) Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
(The Cat Above and the Mouse Below
The Cat Above and the Mouse Below
The Cat Above and The Mouse Below is second of thirty-four Tom and Jerry shorts produced by Chuck Jones, released in 1964.-Plot:In a concert entitled "Signor Thomasino Catti-Cazzaza Baritone", Tom is a baritone singer who will perform at a concert to sing Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville...
), as well as in Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
's Magical Maestro
Magical Maestro
Magical Maestro is a 1952 animated short film directed by Tex Avery and produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. It tells the story of Poochini, a canine opera singer who spurns a magician. The magician is able to replace Poochini's normal conductor prior to the show through disguise...
and Warner Bros' One Froggy Evening
One Froggy Evening
One Froggy Evening is an approximately seven-minute long Technicolor animated short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn.The short makes the debut of Michigan J...
.
"Largo al factotum" was also used as the base in the final section of the Italian cartoon, "Opera" by Bozzetto and Manuli.
It has also been parodied in Latin America by the famous Mexican TV show "El Chavo del Ocho" (The kid from apartment eight), where one of the neighbors, the ever unemployed and unemployable Don Ramón (played by the late Ramón Valdés) gets a job as a hairdresser. The scene at the barber shop begins with him doing a haircut to a customer and singing "Figaro, figaro, figaro, figaro, figaro" in a clear reference to "Largo al factotum".
Largo al factotum is sung by a mustached baritone, a stop-motion animated clay figure, in the opening credits of the 1991 film Oscar
Oscar (1991 film)
Oscar is a 1991 American comedy film directed by John Landis. Based on the Claude Magnier stage play, it is can be considered a remake of the 1967 film of the same name, but the settings has been moved to the Depression era New York City and centers around a mob boss trying to go straight...
(performed by Earle Patriarco), and by an animated bird in the opening credits of the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 American comedy film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field and based on the novel Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. It was directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup...
(sung by actor Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
).
Singer-songwriter Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
has admitted that the tune of his hit song "Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly (song)
"Grace Kelly" is a song by the English singer Mika, released for download on January 9, 2007. It also appears on Mika's 2007 album Life in Cartoon Motion. Produced and mixed by Greg Wells, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number three and the UK Official Download Chart at number one...
" is based on "Largo al factotum."
The Italian band Elio e le Storie Tese
Elio e le Storie Tese
Elio e le Storie Tese , often abbreviated EelST, is an Italian band from Milan, formed in 1980, whose music is clearly inspired to the style of Frank Zappa, both in music and lyrics...
performed a rock version of this song on the Festival di Sanremo stage in 2008, dressed in XVIII-century style.
In the Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
episode The Cat Above and the Mouse Below
The Cat Above and the Mouse Below
The Cat Above and The Mouse Below is second of thirty-four Tom and Jerry shorts produced by Chuck Jones, released in 1964.-Plot:In a concert entitled "Signor Thomasino Catti-Cazzaza Baritone", Tom is a baritone singer who will perform at a concert to sing Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville...
, Tom sings "Figaro", but when he is singing faster, Jerry aims a plunger on Tom's mouth.
Prince Poppycock
Prince Poppycock
John Andrew Quale is an American singer, songwriter, and performer best known by the stage name and persona of Prince Poppycock. Quale, who specializes in musical theater and opera, describes Prince Poppycock on his website as a "roguish operatic dandy."...
performed this at his audition in season 5 of America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
and stunned the judges and audience with his rendition. His outrageous clothes and makeup led the people to prejudge the performance. Expecting a disaster, instead they found the 3rd runner-up of Season 5.