In 1775, Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy The Barber of Seville premiered in Paris. After revision, it became a success through its wit, intrigue and socially agile servant Figaro. The play later inspired famous operatic adaptations.

Beaumarchais made the clever servant a vehicle for social criticism and theatrical vitality. Figaro's world foreshadowed the sharper challenges to aristocratic privilege that would soon erupt in French literary and political culture.