Gioachino Rossini and the leap year Google doodle

[caption id=“attachment_229050” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The doodle features the leap year frogs performing the Barber of Seville: Screen grab from Google”]  [/caption] Google pulled another one out of their magic doodle bag, with this one having the added advantage of commemorating two events together. The leap year frogs (who have featured in doodles on two prior occasions) make a reappearance, and we see them perform to the “Barber of Seville” composed by Gioachino Rossini. Because, of course, it is also the 220th anniversary of Rossini’s birth. In the doodle, we see that the froggy Figaro (extreme right) lathers up “Seville’s” masquerading Count Almaviva, as we ponder who, in Act 2, just might get croaked. The frog on the left is playing the piano, while the second one is (obviously!) leaping. The Washington Post’s Comic Riffs blog goes a step further than most, actually uncovering a previous link between frogs and Rossini. It’s a little bit of a convoluted argument, but for the trivia loving amongst us, it is a definite must read. ( Read it here) Rossini’s other famous operas include William Tell (1829), Semiramide (1823) and Cinderella (1817). Rossini was born on 29 February 1792 in Pesaro, Italy, and died on Nov. 13, 1868. Watch video: