Act One:

Against the backdrop of Seville in Southern Spain, Count Almaviva, disguised as a poor student named Lindoro, stands below the balcony of the beautiful Rosina, serenading her with the hopes of winning her hand in marriage. The count does not know Rosina, but has fallen in love with her from a distance when she was visiting Madrid. He disguised himself and followed Rosina to Seville. She is not impressed with his serenade and fails to appear on her balcony. Discouraged, the count dismisses the musicians. Hearing someone coming, he moves out of view. When he sees that it's his former servant, Figaro, the count emerges to greet him and offer him cash if he'll help him meet Rosina. Figaro happily accepts the cash, and, as he is the town barber and Rosina's guardian is a client, assures the count that he has free access to the house. Figaro begins to hatch a plan as the count begins another serenade. This time, Rosina is charmed into appearing on her balcony. She drops a note to her unknown admirer only to then be dragged back inside by her guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who announces his plans to marry her the next day! Figaro tells the count that, to get inside the house, he must disguise himself as a drunken soldier with an order to be quartered in the doctor's home.

Act Two:

Rosina is alone in the doctor's study finishing a love letter to the unknown serenader when Figaro walks in. Hearing Dr. Bartolo and his friend, Don Basilio, arrive, Figaro hides. Basilio tells the doctor that Count Almaviva is in town and interested in Rosina. Basilio tells Dr. Bartolo to ruin the count's reputation by spreading gossip. But, the doctor wants to work faster than that and plans to draw up a marriage contract for him to wed Rosina instead. When the men leave, Figaro comes out of hiding. Rosina asks him about the serenading stranger. Figaro reveals it's a poor young man who is head over heels in love with her. Thrilled with the news, Rosina gives him the letter to deliver. Dr. Bartolo returns to the study and is suspicious immediately upon seeing that Rosina has just completed a letter. Rosina tries to cover her tracks but Dr. Bartolo is outraged! He's a man of dignity and professional standing and not to be lied to! He orders Rosina locked in her room. Count Almaviva arrives at the house acting like a drunken soldier. As the doctor protests the drunkard's presence, the count and Rosina exchange glances. Figaro is trying to calm the doctor when the police arrive. The officer in charge is prepared to arrest the drunken soldier until the soldier pulls the officer aside and discretely reveals his true identity. The police back off and leave, much to the amazement of everyone in the house.

Act Three:

Count Almaviva returns to the house dressed in yet another disguise: as a music teacher. He insists that he give Rosina a music lesson on behalf of Don Bassilio, who is sick. The count even produces the note that Rosina wrote to Lindoro as proof that he's on the doctor's side. To provide a distraction during the lesson, Figaro insists on shaving the doctor's face. This gives the count and Rosina time to make arrangements to elope that night. The count manages to steal the key to her room. Just then, Don Basilio enters the house. To prevent him from foiling the charade, the count bribes him to play along and he agrees. But, the doctor is paying attention to everything going on and figures out what's happening. He chases out the count and Figaro and sends Basilio to get the notary so he can marry Rosina immediately. He then shows Rosina the note that she wrote to Lindoro and tells her that Lindoro and Figaro plan to abduct her for the count. Feeling betrayed, Rosina agrees to marry the doctor. He goes to get the police so they'll be on hand to arrest the men when they come for Rosina. The count and Figaro climb a ladder onto Rosina's balcony– ready for the elopement. She confronts them about their so-called plans to give her to the count. The Count reveals his true identity and explains he masqueraded as Lindoro to find out if she loved him for himself or for his rank. Rosina expresses her great love and accepts the count's proposal. Don Basilio then arrives with a notary, prompting the count to bribe the man to officiate at his wedding. He agrees and the couple is married by the time Dr. Bartolo arrives with police. The count explains everything and offers to let Dr. Bartolo keep Rosina's dowry.