Essential Rossini
When 'Guillaume Tell' (William Tell) premiered at the Salle Le Peletier, Paris, in 1829, its composer, Gioachino Rossini, was just 37 years old. He had composed a remarkable number of operas… and yet at this point, he laid down his pen and headed into (very) early retirement from the stage.
Read more…"The Swan of Pesaro" was a bon viveur, celebrated for his love of life – and good food – as much as for his brilliant comic operas, such as 'Il barbiere di Siviglia', 'La Cenerentola' or 'L’italiana in Algeri'. But he also wrote great "opera seria", works like 'Tancredi' or the remarkable 'Semiramide'. Much of his vocal writing is florid and technically demanding – only the best singers can do these arias real justice!
Not for nothing was Rossini dubbed "Signor Crescendo". Many of his overtures – many included here – feature a masterly rise in dynamics, allied to some of the wittiest woodwind writing out there.
In his long retirement, he wrote some piano pieces – which he dubbed his "Sins of Old Age" – and the 'Petite Messe Solennelle', scored for choir, two pianos and a harmonium. It is neither little nor particularly solemn… Rossini having the last laugh?