“Largo al factotum” (Make way for the factotum) is an aria (cavatina) from The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character, Figaro. 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 Latin where it literally means “do everything”.
Because of the constant singing of eighth notes in 68 metre 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. The aria is written in C major. The voice range covers D3 to G4 (optional A4), with a very high tessitura. For this reason, a few dramatic tenors have also sung the aria, notably Mario Del Monaco and Plácido Domingo.
The basis of the aria is Figaro telling us how important he is – how all of the men, women and children come to him and how much he enjoys his job and life. He describes himself as a barber of quality, brave, lucky and ready for anything. The repeated ‘Figaro’s before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of operatic singing. It’s actually noted as one of the most difficult arias for a baritone to perform due to both the tempo and the tongue-twisting lines of Italian superlatives.
Beyond its frequent operatic and orchestral performances, the piece in recent years has been used to advertise olive oil on UK television and was sung by a hopeful singer in the Britain’s Got Talent auditions. Going back to childhood, you may remember Bugs Bunny as The Rabbit of Seville where he gave his nemesis Elmer Fudd a fruity haircut; the aria also appears in cartoons featuring Woody Woodpecker, Porky the Pig and Tom & Jerry, and the final segment from the 1946 Disney film Make Mine Music. Examples of the song in film include A Farewell to Arms (1932), For the Love of Mary (1948, by actress/soprano Deanna Durbin), Oscar (1991), and Luca (2021).
If you’re a film fan you possibly heard Robin Williams including sections in the lively opening of Mrs Doubtfire, or saw Walter Matthau using the aria to educate a border guard on the differences between Mozart and Rossini in Hopscotch, and maybe you even witnessed Buck the Weasel’s rendition in Ice Age. On the small screen, Seinfeld, The Simpsons (Homer of Seville) and Family Guy have all used the music in episodes and the repeated Figaro, Figaro, Figaro calls also featured in a Harry Enfield and Chums sketch referring to opera. Singer Mika also confirmed that the tune of his 2007 single Grace Kelly was based on Largo al Factotum.
