Gioachino Rossini

Lore & Background

Rossini was born in Pesaro to parents who were both musicians: his father a trumpeter, his mother a singer. He began to compose by age twelve and was educated at music school in Bologna. His first opera was performed in Venice in 1810 when he was 18. In 1815 he was engaged to write operas and manage theatres in Naples. Between 1810 and 1823 he wrote 34 operas for the Italian stage, a productivity that necessitated an almost formulaic approach for some components and self-borrowing. During this period he produced his most popular works, including the comic operas L'italiana in Algeri, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and La Cenerentola, as well as opera seria such as Tancredi, Otello, and Semiramide.

In 1824 he was contracted by the Opéra in Paris, for which he produced an opera to celebrate the coronation of Charles X, Il viaggio a Reims, revisions of two Italian operas, and in 1829 his last opera, Guillaume Tell. Rossini's withdrawal from opera for the last 40 years of his life has never been fully explained; contributory factors may have been ill-health, the wealth his success had brought him, and the rise of spectacular grand opera. From the early 1830s to 1855 he wrote relatively little. On his return to Paris in 1855 he became renowned for his musical salons, for which he wrote the entertaining pieces Péchés de vieillesse. His last major composition was his Petite messe solennelle (1863).

Reader's Guide

Rossini's significance lies in his transformation of opera during the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He brought innovation in melody, harmonic and instrumental colour, and dramatic form, setting new standards for both opera buffa and opera seria. His comic works, such as Il barbiere di Siviglia, brought the opera buffa tradition to a peak, while his serious operas like Guillaume Tell demonstrated his range. His early retirement from large-scale composition at the height of his fame remains a notable and unexplained event in music history. His later years in Paris, hosting musical salons and composing smaller works, kept him connected to the artistic world. His legacy endures through his operas, which remain staples of the repertoire, and through his influence on later composers.

Did You Know?

• Rossini was born on 29 February 1792, a leap day.
• He wrote 34 operas for the Italian stage between 1810 and 1823.
• His last opera, Guillaume Tell, was produced in 1829.
• He composed the entertaining pieces Péchés de vieillesse for his Parisian musical salons.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Datemi il conto della lavandaia e vi metterò in musica anche quello." — Gioachino Rossini "Give me the laundress' bill and I will set to music even that." — Gioachino Rossini "Indro Montanelli L'Italia giacobina e carbonara, Rizzoli, Milano 1972, p. 612." — Gioachino Rossini "Alfred Christlieb Kalischer Beethoven und seine Zeitgenossen (1908) p. 83.

Translation from Charlotte Moscheles (trans. A. D. Coleridge) Life of Moscheles (1873) vol. 2, p. 275." — Gioachino Rossini