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The Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) is best known for his operas, of which he wrote 39 between 1806 and 1829.Adopting the opera buffa style of Domenico Cimarosa and Giovanni Paisiello, Rossini became the dominant composer of Italian opera during the first half of the 19th-century.
TitleGenreActsLibrettoDemetrio e Polibio (composed ...dramma serio2 actsVincenzina Viganò-Mombelli, possibly ...1 actGaetano Rossi, after Camillo Federici and ...2 actsGaetano Gasbarri [ ca]farsa1 actGiuseppe Maria Foppa, after Giuseppe ...- Overview
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Gioachino Rossini (born February 29, 1792, Pesaro, Papal States [Italy]—died November 13, 1868, Passy, near Paris, France) Italian composer noted for his operas, particularly his comic operas, of which The Barber of Seville (1816), Cinderella (1817), and Semiramide (1823) are among the best known. Of his later, larger-scale dramatic operas, the mos...
Gioachino Rossini was the son of Giuseppe Rossini, an impoverished trumpeter who played in miscellaneous bands and orchestras, and Anna Guidarini, a singer of secondary roles. Thus, Rossini spent his entire childhood in the theatre. Though a lazy student, the young Rossini found it easy to learn to sing and play. At age 14 he entered Bologna’s Philharmonic School (now the G.B. Martini State Conservatory of Music) and composed his first opera seria—Demetrio e Polibio (1806; staged in 1812)—for the Mombelli, a family of singers. At 15 he had learned the violin, horn, and harpsichord and had often sung in public, even in the theatre, to earn some money.
When his voice broke and he was unable to continue singing, Rossini became an accompanist and then a conductor. He had already realized the importance of the German school of composition, perceiving the new elements by which Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had enriched music. These influences can be found in the early cantata he wrote for the Philharmonic School, performed there in 1808. During the next 20 years (from 1808) this genial lazybones was to compose more than 40 operas.
By taste, and soon by obligation, Rossini threw himself into the genre then fashionable: opera buffa (comic opera). His first opera buffa, La cambiale di matrimonio (1810; The Bill of Marriage), was performed in Venice and had a certain success, although his unusual orchestration made the singers indignant. Back in Bologna again, he gave the cantata La morte di Didone (1811; The Death of Dido) in homage to the Mombelli family, who had helped him so much, and he scored a triumph with the two-act opera buffa L’equivoca stravagante (1811; The Extravagant Misunderstanding). The following year, two more of his comic operas were produced in Venice.
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Rossini had already broken the traditional form of opera buffa: he embellished his melodies (he was the true creator of bel canto, a florid style of singing), animated his ensembles and finales, used unusual rhythms, restored to the orchestra its rightful place, and put the singer at the service of the music. In 1812 Rossini wrote the oratorio Ciro in Babilonia (Cyrus in Babylon) and La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder), another comic opera.
The same year, Marietta Marcolini, who had already sung in Rossini’s operas and who was interested in the young composer, recommended Rossini to the committee of La Scala opera house in Milan. It was under contract to them that he wrote La pietra del paragone (1812; The Touchstone), a touchstone of his budding genius. In its finale, Rossini—for the first time—made use of the crescendo effect that he was later to use and abuse indiscriminately.
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Rossini as a young man, c. 1810–1815 Gioachino [n 1] Antonio Rossini [n 2] (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces and some sacred music. He set new standards for both comic and serious opera before retiring from large-scale composition while still in his thirties ...
Jun 9, 2017 · Guillaume Tell. William Tell is an opera in four acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis based on Friedrich Schiller's play William Tell, which drew on the William Tell legend. This opera was Rossini's last, even though the composer lived for nearly forty more years.
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Gioachino Rossini (born Pesaro 29 February 1792; died Passy 13 November 1868) Gioachino Antonio Rossini was the most significant Italian composer of the first half of the nineteenth century. Although he wrote many songs including chamber music and piano pieces, Rossini is most famous for his 39 operas, in particular his comic operas for which ...
- February 29, 1792
- November 13, 1868
- Who is Gioachino Rossini?Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who had composed 39 operas by the time his was 38. He became known as “the Italian Mozart” and tw...
- How do you pronounce Gioachino Rossini?Gioachino Rossini is pronounced Jow-uh-kee-now Ruh-see-nee
- What kind of music did Gioachino Rossini write?As well as writing 39 operas, Gioachino Rossini was also known for writing chamber music, piano pieces, sacred music and instrumental compositions.
- Why is Gioachino Rossini important?Rossini was known for his comic operas, but he also challenged the format, breaking the traditional opera buffa and embellishing his melodies, ense...
- Why did Rossini stop writing operas?Although never fully explained, Rossini retired from opera at the age of 39, he was by that point a wealthy man and internationally known. However,...
- How did Gioachino Rossini die?Rossini suffered with various illnesses and depression during his life however if was following an unsuccessful operation to treat colorectal cance...
Jan 8, 2024 · Definition. Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer of around 40 operas, including the comic operas The Italian Girl in Algiers and The Barber of Seville. Rossini championed melody and beautiful singing over operatic drama, rattling out sensational hit after hit until his early retirement at 37.
Apr 30, 2023 · Rossini’s 39 Operas (List + 1-Sentence Summaries) The operas of Gioachino Rossini are a feast for the ears and eyes. Due to their diversity, there is something for everyone: Rossini wrote both comic and serious operas based on historical, mythological and biblical material. Rossini created a total of 39 stage works.
