Biography. Italian composer Rossini: biography, creativity, life story and best works Biography of the former composer

Gioachino Antonio Rossini(1792-1868) - an outstanding Italian composer, author of 39 operas, sacred and chamber music.

Brief biography

Born in Pesaro (Italy), in the family of a horn player. In 1810 he wrote the opera "The Marriage Bill", which did not receive recognition. Success came to Rossini three years later, when his opera Tancred was staged in Venice, winning the largest opera stages in Italy. Since then, success has accompanied him in almost all European countries. In 1815, he signed a contract in Naples with the entrepreneur D. Barbaya, pledging to write two operas a year for a constant annual salary. Until 1823, the composer worked selflessly, fulfilling the terms of the contract. At the same time, he went on tour to Vienna, where he received an enthusiastic reception.

Having stayed briefly in Venice, and having written the opera “Semiramide” for the local theater there, Rossini went to London, where he enjoyed enormous success as a composer and conductor, and then to Paris. In Paris, he becomes director of the Italian Opera, but is soon fired from this position. Considering Rossini's merits as the greatest composer of the era, the position of chief intendant of royal music was created for him, and then the chief inspector of singing in France.

Having completed work on William Tell in 1829, Rossini did not write another opera until his death. All his composing work of this time was limited to "Stabat Mater", several chamber and choral works and songs. This is perhaps the only case in the history of music when the composer himself deliberately interrupted his creative work.

At times he also conducted, but mostly he enjoyed the fame of an honored musician-composer and worked in the kitchen. A great gourmet, he loved delicious dishes and knew how to cook them, endlessly inventing new recipes. For some time he was a co-owner of the Parisian opera house. From 1836 he lived in Italy, mainly in Bologna, but after 19 years he returned to Paris again and never left it until the end of his life.

When it was decided, during Rossini’s lifetime, to erect a monument worth two million lire in his homeland in Pesaro, the composer did not agree, objecting: “Give me this money, and every day for two years I will stand for two hours on the plinth in any position.” .

IN creative heritage Rossini includes 37 operas ("The Barber of Seville", "The Thieving Magpie", "Italian in Algiers", "Cinderella", "William Tell", etc.), "Stabat Mater", 15 cantatas, numerous choral works, songs, chamber works (mainly quartets for wind instruments). His music is in the style of late classicism and Italian traditions. She is distinguished by her extraordinary temperament, inexhaustible melodic diversity, lightness, brilliant use of all shades of instruments and performing voices (including a never-before-seen coloratura mezzo-soprano), rich accompaniment, independent interpretation of orchestral parts, and skillful characterization of stage situations. All these merits put Rossini, along with Mozart and Wagner, among the greatest opera composers.

Works

The Bel Canto Foundation organizes concerts in Moscow featuring the music of Gioachino Rossini. On this page you can see a poster of upcoming concerts in 2020 with the music of Gioachino Rossini and buy a ticket for a date convenient for you.

Rossini Gioacchino (1792 - 1868) - Italian composer, nicknamed the "Swan of Pesara". Son of a trumpeter and opera singer. As a child, Rossini moved to Bologna, where his studies on the harpsichord began; he also practiced singing. At the age of 15, Rossini entered the Bologna Musical Lyceum, where he studied until 1810; his composition teacher was Abbot Mattei. At the same time, Rossini began conducting opera performances. The first ones date back to this time creative experiences Rossini - vocal numbers for a traveling troupe and a one-act comic opera "The Promissory Note for Marriage" (1810). The young composer tried to compose several operas for Milan and Venice, but none of them were successful.
Then the composer went to Rome, where he planned to write and stage several operas. The second of these was the opera The Barber of Seville, first staged on February 20, 1816. The failure of the opera at the premiere turned out to be as loud as its triumph in the future. Rossini's next comic operas, like Donizetti's, did not introduce anything fundamentally new, despite all their individual artistic merits.
Not having time to write the overture, he used the overture from “Elizabeth” in this opera. The music of "The Barber of Seville", temperamental, sparkling with wit and fun, is rooted in the favorite genres of Italian folk dance and song. The characteristics of the characters (mainly in the arias) are distinguished by accuracy and figurative relief.
Later, having lost interest in comic opera, Rossini in subsequent years devoted his work mainly to heroic-patriotic opera. This should be seen as a reflection of the growth of patriotic feelings and national self-awareness during the liberation struggle of the Italian people.
Gioachino Rossini had a rare melodic talent. An endless stream of captivating melodies, sometimes soulfully lyrical, sometimes sparkling, fills the music of his operas, which Pushkin compared to young kisses, the stream and splashes of hissing ai. The orchestra in Rossini's operas is not limited to an accompanying role - it is distinguished by dramatic expressiveness and participates in the characterization of characters and stage situations.
If the composition of Rossini's operas is traditional (musical numbers alternating with recitatives), then essentially his work led to the renewal of the main directions of Italian opera and determined its future path.

The famous Italian composer Gioachino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 in the small town of Pesaro, located on the coast of the Gulf of Venice.

From childhood he became involved in music. His father, Giuseppe Rossini, nicknamed Veselchak for his playful disposition, was a city trumpeter, and his mother, a woman of rare beauty, had a wonderful voice. There were always songs and music in the house.

Being a supporter of the French Revolution, Giuseppe Rossini joyfully welcomed the entry of revolutionary units into Italian territory in 1796. The restoration of the power of the Pope was marked by the arrest of the head of the Rossini family.

Having lost his job, Giuseppe and his wife were forced to become traveling musicians. Rossini's father was a horn player in orchestras that performed in fair performances, and his mother performed opera arias. The beautiful soprano who sang in church choirs Gioacchino also brought income to the family. The boy's voice was highly valued by the choirmasters of Lugo and Bologna. In the last of these cities, famous for its musical traditions, the Rossini family found shelter.

In 1804, at the age of 12, Gioacchino began to study music professionally. Became his teacher church composer Angelo Thesei, under whose guidance the boy quickly mastered the rules of counterpoint, as well as the art of accompaniment and singing. A year later, young Rossini set off on a journey through the cities of Romagna as a bandmaster.

Realizing the incompleteness of his music education, Gioachino decided to continue it at the Bologna Musical Lyceum, where he was enrolled as a student in the cello class. Classes in counterpoint and composition were supplemented by independent study of scores and manuscripts from the rich Lyceum library.

His passion for the work of such famous musical figures as Cimarosa, Haydn and Mozart had a special influence on Rossini’s development as a musician and composer. While still a student at the Lyceum, he became a member of the Bologna Academy, and after graduation, in recognition of his talent, he received an invitation to conduct a performance of Haydn’s oratorio “The Seasons.”

Gioachino Rossini showed an amazing ability to work early; he quickly coped with any creative task, displaying the wonders of an amazing compositional technique. During the years of study they wrote large number musical works, among which are spiritual works, symphonies, instrumental music And vocal works, as well as excerpts from the opera “Demetrio and Polibio”, Rossini’s first composition in this genre.

The year of graduation from the musical lyceum was marked by the beginning of Rossini’s simultaneous activities as a singer, bandmaster and opera composer.

The period from 1810 to 1815 was marked in the life of the famous composer as “vagrant”; during this time Rossini wandered from one city to another, not staying anywhere for more than two to three months.

The fact is that in Italy of the 18th - 19th centuries, permanent opera houses existed only in large cities - such as Milan, Venice and Naples; small towns had to be content with the art of traveling theater troupes, usually consisting of a prima donna, a tenor, a bass and several singers on the sidelines. The orchestra was recruited from local music lovers, military personnel and traveling musicians.

The maestro (composer), hired by the impresario of the troupe, wrote music to the provided libretto, and the performance was staged, while the maestro himself had to conduct the opera. If the production was successful, the work was performed for 20–30 days, after which the troupe disbanded and the artists scattered to cities.

Within five many years Gioachino Rossini wrote operas for traveling theaters and artists. Close collaboration with performers contributed to the development of great compositional flexibility; it was necessary to take into account the vocal abilities of each singer, the tessitura and timbre of his voice, artistic temperament and much more.

The admiration of the public and penny fees - this is what Rossini received as a reward for his work as a composer. In his early works Some haste and negligence were noted, which caused severe criticism. Thus, the composer Paisiello, who saw Gioachino Rossini as a formidable rival, spoke of him as “a dissolute composer, little versed in the rules of art and devoid of good taste.”

Criticism did not bother the young composer, since he was well aware of the shortcomings of his works; in some scores he even noted so-called grammatical errors with the words “to satisfy pedants.”

In the first years of independent creative activity Rossini worked on writing mainly comic operas, which had strong roots in musical culture Italy. The genre of serious opera occupied an important place in his further work.

Unprecedented success came to Rossini in 1813, after staging the works “Tancred” (opera seria) and “The Italian in Algiers” (opera buffa) in Venice. The doors of the best theaters in Milan, Venice and Rome opened before him, arias from his compositions were sung at carnivals, city squares and streets.

Gioachino Rossini became one of the most popular composers in Italy. Memorable melodies, filled with irrepressible temperament, fun, heroic pathos and love lyrics, made an unforgettable impression on the entire Italian society, be it aristocratic circles or the society of artisans.

The composer's patriotic ideas, sounding in many of his works of a later period, also found a response. Thus, a patriotic theme unexpectedly wedges itself into the typically buffoonish plot of “Italian Woman in Algeria” with fights, scenes of disguises and lovers getting into trouble.

The main character of the opera, Isabella, addresses her beloved Lindor, who is languishing in captivity of the Algerian Bey Mustafa, with the words: “Think about your homeland, be undaunted and do your duty. Look: sublime examples of valor and dignity are being revived throughout Italy.” This aria reflected the patriotic feelings of the era.

In 1815, Rossini moved to Naples, where he was offered a position as a composer at the Teatro San Carlo, which promised a number of profitable prospects, such as high fees and work with famous performers. The move to Naples marked the end of the period of “vagrancy” for the young Gioacchino.

From 1815 to 1822, Rossini worked in one of the best theaters in Italy, at the same time he toured the country and carried out orders for other cities. On the stage of the Neapolitan theater, the young composer made his debut with the opera seria “Elizabeth, Queen of England,” which was a new word in traditional Italian opera.

Since ancient times, aria as a form solo singing was the musical core of such works, the composer was faced with the task of outlining only the musical lines of the opera and highlighting the main melodic contour in the vocal parts.

The success of the work in this case depended only on the improvisational talent and taste of the virtuoso performer. Rossini departed from a long-standing tradition: violating the rights of the singer, he wrote out all the coloraturas, virtuoso passages and embellishments of the aria in the score. Soon this innovation entered the work of other Italian composers.

The Neapolitan period contributed to the improvement musical genius Rossini and the composer's transition from the light genre of comedy to more serious music.

The situation of growing social upsurge, which was resolved by the Carbonari uprising in 1820–1821, required more significant and heroic images, rather than frivolous characters in comedic works. Thus, the opera seria had more opportunities to express new trends, sensitively perceived by Gioachino Rossini.

For a number of years, the main object of creativity outstanding composer was a serious opera. Rossini sought to change the musical and plot standards of traditional opera seria, defined at the beginning of the 18th century. He tried to introduce significant content and drama into this style, to expand connections with real life and the ideas of his time, in addition, the composer gave the serious opera activity and dynamics borrowed from the buffa opera.

The time spent working in the Neapolitan theater turned out to be very significant in its achievements and results. During this period, such works as “Tancred”, “Othello” (1816) were written, which reflected Rossini’s attraction to high drama, as well as monumental heroic works “Moses in Egypt” (1818) and “Mohammed II” (1820) .

The romantic trends developing in Italian music required new artistic images and means of musical expression. Rossini's opera “The Lady of the Lake” (1819) reflected such features of the romantic style in music as picturesque descriptions and the transmission of lyrical experiences.

The best works of Gioachino Rossini are rightfully considered “The Barber of Seville,” created in 1816 for production in Rome during the carnival holidays and the result of the composer’s many years of work on a comic opera, and the heroic-romantic work “William Tell.”

“The Barber of Seville” preserves all the most vital and vibrant elements of opera buffa: the democratic traditions of the genre and national elements are enriched in this work, permeated through and through with intelligent, biting irony, sincere fun and optimism, and a realistic depiction of the surrounding reality.

The first production of “The Barber of Seville,” written in just 19 or 20 days, was unsuccessful, but already at the second showing the audience enthusiastically greeted the famous composer, and there was even a torchlight procession in honor of Rossini.

The opera libretto, consisting of two acts and four scenes, is based on the plot of the work of the same name by the famous French playwright Beaumarchais. The location of the events unfolding on the stage is Spanish Seville, the main characters are Count Almaviva, his beloved Rosina, the barber, doctor and musician Figaro, Doctor Bartolo, Rosina's guardian and the monk Don Basilio, Bartolo's confidant of secret affairs.

In the first scene of the first act, the loving Count Almaviva wanders near the house of Doctor Bartolo, where his beloved lives. His lyrical aria is heard by Rosina’s cunning guardian, who himself has designs on his ward. The “master of all sorts” Figaro, inspired by the promises of the count, comes to the aid of the lovers.

The action of the second picture takes place in Bartolo’s house, in the room of Rosina, who dreams of sending a letter to her admirer Lindor (Count Almaviva is hiding under this name). At this time, Figaro appears and offers his services, but the unexpected arrival of his guardian forces him to hide. Figaro learns about the insidious plans of Bartolo and Don Basilio and hurries to warn Rosina about this.

Soon Almaviva bursts into the house under the guise of a drunken soldier, and Bartolo tries to push him out the door. In this turmoil, the Count manages to quietly pass a note to his beloved and inform her that Lindor is him. Figaro is also here, together with Bartolo’s servants, he is trying to separate the owner of the house from Almaviva.

Everyone falls silent only with the arrival of a team of soldiers. The officer gives the order to arrest the count, but the paper presented with a majestic gesture instantly changes his behavior. The government representative bows respectfully before the disguised Almaviva, causing bewilderment among everyone present.

The second act takes place in Bartolo’s room, where the love-struck count comes, disguised as a monk, posing as the singing teacher Don Alonzo. To gain Dr. Bartolo's trust, Almaviva gives him Rosina's note. The girl, recognizing her Lindor in the monk, willingly begins her studies, but the presence of Bartolo interferes with the lovers.

At this time, Figaro arrives and offers the old man a shave. By cunning, the barber manages to take possession of the key to Rosina's balcony. The arrival of Don Basilio threatens to ruin the well-performed performance, but he is “removed” from the stage in time. The lesson resumes, Figaro continues the shaving procedure, trying to shield the lovers from Bartolo, but the deception is revealed. Almaviva and the barber are forced to flee.

Bartolo, taking advantage of Rosina's note, carelessly given to him by the count, persuades the disappointed girl to sign marriage contract. Rosina reveals to her guardian the secret of her impending escape, and he goes after the guards.

At this time, Almaviva and Figaro enter the girl’s room. The Count asks Rosina to become his wife and receives consent. The lovers want to leave the house as soon as possible, but an unexpected obstacle arises in the form of a lack of stairs near the balcony and the arrival of Don Basilio with a notary.

The appearance of Figaro, who declared Rosina his niece and Count Almaviva her fiancé, saves the situation. Doctor Bartolo, who came with guards, finds the ward’s marriage already accomplished. In an impotent rage, he attacks the “traitor” Basilio and the “scoundrel” Figaro, but Almaviva’s generosity wins him over, and he joins the general chorus of welcome.

The libretto of “The Barber of Seville” differs significantly from the original source: here the social acuity and satirical orientation of Beaumarchais’s comedy turned out to be greatly softened. For Rossini, Count Almaviva is a lyrical character, and not an empty rake-aristocrat. His sincere feelings and desire for happiness triumph over the selfish plans of his guardian Bartolo.

Figaro appears as a cheerful, dexterous and enterprising person, in whose role there is not even a hint of moralizing or philosophizing. Figaro's life credo is laughter and jokes. These two characters are contrasted negative heroes- to the stingy old man Bartolo and the hypocritical bigot Don Basilio.

Cheerful, sincere, infectious laughter is the main weapon of Gioachino Rossini, who in his musical comedies and farces relies on traditional images opera buffa - a loving guardian, a clever servant, a pretty pupil and a cunning monk.

Animating these masks with features of realism, the composer gives them the appearance of people, as if snatched from reality. It happened that the action depicted on stage or character were associated by the public with a certain event, incident or specific person.

Thus, The Barber of Seville is realistic comedy, the realism of which is manifested not only in the plot and dramatic situations, but also in generalized human characters, in the composer’s ability to typify the phenomena of contemporary life.

The overture, which precedes the events of the opera, sets the tone for the entire work. It immerses you in an atmosphere of fun and casual jokes. Subsequently, the mood created by the overture is concretized in a certain fragment of the comedy.

Despite the fact that this musical introduction was repeatedly used by Rossini in other works, it is perceived as an integral part of The Barber of Seville. Each theme of the overture is based on a new melodic basis, and the connecting parts create continuity of transitions and give the overture organic integrity.

The fascination of the operatic action of “The Barber of Seville” depends on the variety of compositional techniques used by Rossini: introduction, the effect of which is the result of a combination of stage and musical action; alternating recitatives and dialogues with solo arias characterizing a particular character, and duets; ensemble scenes with a through line of development, designed to mix various plot threads and maintain intense interest in the further development of events; orchestral parts supporting the rapid tempo of the opera.

The source of the melody and rhythm of “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini is the bright, temperamental Italian music. In the score of this work one can hear everyday song and dance turns and rhythms that form the basis of this musical comedy.

Created after “The Barber of Seville,” the works “Cinderella” and “The Magpie is a Thief” are far from the usual comedy genre. The composer pays more attention to lyrical characteristics and dramatic situations. However, with all his desire for something new, Rossini could not completely overcome the conventions of serious opera.

In 1822, together with a troupe of Italian artists famous composer went on a two-year tour of the capitals of European countries. Fame walked ahead of the famous maestro, a luxurious reception, huge fees and best theaters and performers of the world.

In 1824, Rossini became the head of the Italian opera house in Paris and in this post did a lot to promote Italian opera music. In addition, the famous maestro patronized young Italian composers and musicians.

During the Parisian period, Rossini wrote a number of works for French opera, and many old works were revised. Thus, the opera “Mahomet II” in the French edition was called “The Siege of Coronf” and enjoyed success in Parisian stage. The composer managed to make his works more realistic and dramatic, to achieve simplicity and naturalness of musical speech.

The influence of the French operatic tradition was manifested in a more strict interpretation of the operatic plot, a shift in emphasis from lyrical to heroic scenes, a simplification of vocal style, giving greater importance to crowd scenes, chorus and ensemble, as well as careful attention to the opera orchestra.

All the works of the Parisian period were a preparatory stage towards the creation of the heroic-romantic opera “William Tell”, in which the solo arias of traditional Italian operas were replaced by mass choral scenes.

The libretto of this work, which tells the story of the national liberation war of the Swiss cantons against the Austrians, fully met the patriotic sentiments of Gioachino Rossini and the demands of the progressive public on the eve of the revolutionary events of 1830.

The composer worked on William Tell for several months. The premiere, which took place in the fall of 1829, aroused rave reviews from the public, but this opera did not receive much recognition or popularity. Outside France, the production of William Tell was taboo.

Pictures of folk life and traditions of the Swiss served only as a background for depicting the anger and indignation of the oppressed people; the finale of the work - the uprising of the masses against foreign enslavers - reflected the feelings of the era.

The most famous fragment of the opera "William Tell" was the overture, remarkable for its colorfulness and skill - an expression of the multifaceted composition of the entire musical work.

The artistic principles used by Rossini in William Tell found application in the works of many figures of French and Italian opera of the 19th century. And in Switzerland they even wanted to erect a monument to the famous composer, whose work contributed to the intensification of the national liberation struggle of the Swiss people.

The opera "William Tell" was the last work of Gioachino Rossini, who at the age of 40 suddenly stopped writing opera music and began organizing concerts and performances. In 1836, the famous composer returned to Italy, where he lived until the mid-1850s. Rossini provided all possible assistance to the Italian rebels and even wrote the national anthem in 1848.

However, a serious nervous illness forced Rossini to move to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. His house became one of the centers artistic life French capital, many world famous Italian and French singers, composers and pianists.

Leaving operatic creativity did not weaken Rossini’s fame, which came to him in his youth and did not leave him even after death. From what was created in the second half of life special attention collections of romances and duets deserve " Musical evenings", as well as sacred music "Stabat mater".

Gioachino Rossini died in Paris in 1868, at the age of 76. A few years later, his ashes were sent to Florence and buried in the pantheon of the Church of Santa Croce - a kind of tomb of the best representatives of Italian culture.

Portrait of Rossini

Gioachino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini(Italian: Gioachino Antonio Rossini; February 29, Pesaro, Italy - November 13, Ruelli, France) - Italian composer, author of 39 operas, sacred and chamber music.

Biography

Rossini's father was a horn player, his mother a singer; the boy grew up from an early age in a musical environment and, as soon as his musical talent was discovered, he was sent to Angelo Thesei in Bologna to develop his voice. In 1807, Rossini became a student of Abbot Mattei in composition at the Liceo filarmonico in Bologna, but interrupted his studies as soon as he completed a course in simple counterpoint, since, in Mattei's opinion, knowledge of the latter was quite enough to be able to write operas.

Rossini's first experience was a 1-act opera: "La cambiale di matrimonio" ("The Marriage Bill") (1810 at the San Mose Theater in Venice), which attracted little attention, as did the second: "L" equivoco stravagante" ( “A Strange Case”) (Bologna 1811); however, they liked them so much that Rossini was overwhelmed with work, and by 1812 he had already written 5 operas. The following year, after his “Tancred” was staged at the Fenice Theater in Venice, Italians had already decided that Rossini was Italy's greatest living opera composer, an opinion that was reinforced by the opera "An Italian in Algiers".

But Rossini’s greatest triumph came in 1816 with the production of his “The Barber of Seville” at the Teatro Argentina in Rome; In Rome, The Barber of Seville was greeted with great distrust, since they considered it impertinent for anyone to dare to write, after Paisiello, an opera on the same plot; At the first performance, Rossini's opera was even received coldly; the second performance, which the upset Rossini himself did not conduct, was, on the contrary, an intoxicating success: the audience even staged a torchlight procession.

Still in the same year, Othello followed in Naples, in which Rossini for the first time completely banished recitativo secco, then Cinderella in Rome and The Thieving Magpie of 1817 in Milan. In 1815-23, Rossini entered into a contract with the theater entrepreneur Barbaia, according to which, for an annual fee of 12,000 lire (4,450 rubles), he was obliged to deliver 2 new operas every year; Barbaia at that time had in his hands not only the Neapolitan theaters, but also the Scala Theater in Milan and the Italian Opera in Vienna.

The composer's first wife dies this year. In Rossini he marries Olympia Pelissier. In the city he again settled in Paris, making his home one of the most fashionable music salons.

Rossini died on November 13, 1868 in the town of Passy near Paris. In 1887, the composer's ashes were transported to Florence.

The conservatory in his hometown, created in accordance with his will, bears the name of Rossini.

Operas

• "The Marriage Bill" (La Cambiale di Matrimonio) - 1810
• “A Strange Case” (L’equivoco stravagante) - 1811
• "Demetrius and Polybius" (Demetrio e Polibio) - 1812
• “The Happy Deception” (L’inganno felice) - 1812
• “Cyrus in Babylon, or the Fall of Belshazzar” (Ciro in Babilonia (La caduta di Baldassare)) - 1812
• “The Silk Staircase” (La scala di seta) - 1812
• “The Touchstone” (La pietra del paragone) - 1812
• “Chance makes a thief” (L’occasione fa il ladro (Il cambio della valigia)) - 1812
• “Signor Bruschino” (Il Signor Bruschino (or Il figlio per azzardo)) - 1813
• "Tancred" (Tancredi) - 1813
• “Italian in Algeri” (L’Italiana in Algeri) - 1813
• "Aureliano in Palmira" - 1813
• "The Turk in Italy" (Il Turco in Italia) - 1814
• "Sigismund" (Sigismondo) - 1814
• “Elizabeth of England” (Elisabetta regina d’Inghilterra) - 1815
• "Torvaldo and Dorliska" (Torvaldo e Dorliska) - 1815
• “Almaviva, or Futile Precaution” (The Barber of Seville) (Almaviva (ossia L’inutile precauzione (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)) - 1816
• “The Newspaper” (La gazzetta (Il matrimonio per concorso)) - 1816
• “Othello, or the Moor of Venice” (Otello o Il moro di Venezia) - 1816
• “Cinderella, or the Triumph of Virtue” (La Cenerentola o sia La bontà in trionfo) - 1817
• "The Thieving Magpie" (La gazza ladra) - 1817
• "Armida" - 1817
• “Adelaide of Burgundy, or Ottone, King of Italy” (Adelaide di Borgogna or Ottone, re d’Italia) - 1817
• "Moses in Egypt" (Mosè in Egitto) - 1818
• “Adina, or the Caliph of Baghdad” (Adina or Il califfo di Bagdad) - 1818
• “Ricciardo and Zoraide” (Ricciardo e Zoraide) - 1818
• "Hermione" - 1819
• "Eduardo and Cristina" - 1819
• “The Virgin of the Lake” (La donna del lago) - 1819
• “Bianca and Falliero” (“Council of Three”) (Bianca e Falliero (Il consiglio dei tre)) - 1819
• “Maometto secondo” - 1820
• “Matilde di Shabran, or Bellezza e Cuor di Ferro” - 1821
• "Zelmira" - 1822
• "Semiramide" - 1823
• “Journey to Reims, or the Golden Lily Hotel” (Il viaggio a Reims (L’albergo del giglio d’oro)) - 1825
• "The Siege of Corinth" (Le Siège de Corinthe) - 1826
• “Moses and Pharaoh, or the Passage through the Red Sea” (Moïse et Pharaon (Le passage de la Mer Rouge) - 1827 (reworking of “Moses in Egypt”)
• "Count Ory" (Le Comte Ory) - 1828
• "William Tell" (Guillaume Tell) - 1829

Other musical works

• Il pianto d'armonia per la morte d'Orfeo
• Petite Messe Solennelle
• Stabat Mater
• Cats Duet (attr.)
• Bassoon concerto
• Messa di Gloria

Notes

Links

• Brief summaries (synopses) of Rossini's operas on the "100 Operas" website
• Gioachino Antonio Rossini: Sheet music of works at the International Music Score Library Project

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See what "Rossini" is in other dictionaries:

- (Gioachino Rossini) famous Italian composer (1792 1868), who formed an era in the history of the development of Italian opera, although many of his operas are currently forgotten. In his youth, R. studied at the Bologna Conservatory with Stanislav Mattei and already... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Gioachino Antonio Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini Composer Date of birth: February 29, 1792 ... Wikipedia

- (Rossini) Gioachino Antonio (29 II 1792, Pesaro 13 XI 1868, Passy, ​​near Paris) Italian. composer. His father, a man of progressive, republican convictions, was a mountain musician. spirit. orchestra, mother a singer. Learned to play the spinet... Music Encyclopedia

- (Rossini) Gioachino Antonio, Italian composer. Born into a family of musicians (father is a trumpeter and horn player, mother is a singer). I studied singing since childhood... Big Soviet encyclopedia

- (Gioachino Rossini) famous Italian composer (1792 1868), who formed an era in the history of the development of Italian opera, although many of his operas are currently forgotten. In his youth, R. studied at the Bologna Conservatory with Stanislav Mattei and... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

ROSSINI- (Gioacchino Antonio R. (1792 1868) Italian composer; see also PEZARSKY) Now I drink the foamy Rossini again in a new way And I see only through love That the skies are so childishly blue. Kuz915 (192) ... Proper name in Russian poetry of the 20th century: dictionary of personal names

Gioachino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 in Pesaro in the family of a city trumpeter (crier) and a singer.

He fell in love with music very early, especially singing, but began to study seriously only at the age of 14, entering the Musical Lyceum in Bologna. There he studied cello and counterpoint until 1810, when Rossini's first noteworthy work, the one-act farce opera La cambiale di matrimonio (1810), was staged in Venice.

It was followed by a number of operas of the same type, among which two - "The Touchstone" (La pietra del paragone, 1812) and "The Silk Staircase" (La scala di seta, 1812) - are still popular.

In 1813, Rossini composed two operas that immortalized his name: "Tancredi" according to Tasso and then the two-act opera buffa "Italian in Algiers" (L"italiana in Algeri), triumphantly received in Venice, and then throughout Northern Italy.

The young composer tried to compose several operas for Milan and Venice. But none of them (even the opera “The Turk” in Italy, which retained its charm (Il Turco in Italia, 1814) - a kind of “pair” to the opera “The Italian in Algiers”) was successful.

In 1815, Rossini was lucky again, this time in Naples, where he signed a contract with the impresario of the Teatro San Carlo.

We are talking about the opera "Elizabetta, Queen of England" (Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra), a virtuoso composition written specifically for Isabella Colbran, a Spanish prima donna (soprano) who enjoyed the favor of the Neapolitan court (a few years later, Isabella became Rossini's wife).

Then the composer went to Rome, where he planned to write and stage several operas.

The second of them, in terms of the time of writing, was the opera “The Barbiere of Seville” (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), first staged on February 20, 1816. The failure of the opera at the premiere turned out to be as loud as its triumph in the future.

Having returned, in accordance with the terms of the contract, to Naples, Rossini staged there in December 1816 the opera that was perhaps most highly appreciated by his contemporaries - Othello after Shakespeare. There are truly beautiful passages in it, but the work is spoiled by the libretto, which distorts Shakespeare's tragedy.

Rossini composed his next opera again for Rome. His “Cinderella” (La cenerentola, 1817) was subsequently favorably received by the public, but the premiere did not give any grounds for assumptions about future success. However, Rossini survived this failure much more calmly.

Also in 1817, he traveled to Milan to stage the opera La gazza ladra, an elegantly orchestrated melodrama now almost forgotten except for its magnificent overture.

Upon his return to Naples, Rossini staged the opera Armida there at the end of the year, which was warmly received and is still rated much higher than The Thieving Magpie.

Over the next four years, Rossini composed a dozen more operas, mostly not particularly well known today.

At the same time, before the termination of the contract with Naples, he presented the city with two outstanding works. In 1818, he wrote the opera “Moses in Egypt” (Mos in Egitto), which soon conquered Europe.

In 1819, Rossini presented La donna del lago (La donna del lago), which had more modest success.

In 1822, Rossini, accompanied by his wife, Isabella Colbran, left Italy for the first time: he entered into an agreement with his old friend, the impresario of the Teatro San Carlo, who now became director of the Vienna Opera.

The composer brought his latest work to Vienna - the opera Zelmira, which won the author unprecedented success. Although some musicians, led by K.M. von Weber, sharply criticized Rossini, others, among them F. Schubert, gave favorable assessments. As for society, it unconditionally took Rossini’s side.

The most remarkable event of Rossini's trip to Vienna was his meeting with Beethoven.

In the autumn of the same year, the composer was summoned to Verona by Prince Metternich: Rossini was supposed to honor the conclusion of the Holy Alliance with cantatas.

In February 1823, he composed a new opera for Venice, Semiramida, of which only the overture now remains in the concert repertoire. "Semiramide" can be considered the culmination of the Italian period in Rossini's work, if only because it was the last opera he composed for Italy. Moreover, this opera was performed with such brilliance in other countries that after it, Rossini’s reputation as the greatest opera composer of the era was no longer subject to any doubt. No wonder Stendhal compared Rossini’s triumph in the field of music with Napoleon’s victory in the Battle of Austerlitz.

At the end of 1823, Rossini found himself in London (where he stayed for six months), and before that he spent a month in Paris. The composer was hospitably greeted by King George VI, with whom he sang duets; Rossini was in great demand in secular society as a singer and accompanist.

The most important event of that time was the composer's receipt of an invitation to Paris as artistic director of the Teatro Italien opera house. The significance of this contract is that it determined the composer’s place of residence until the end of his days. In addition, he confirmed the absolute superiority of Rossini as an opera composer. (We must remember that Paris was then the center of the “musical universe”; an invitation to Paris was a very high honor for a musician).

He managed to improve the management of the Italian Opera, especially in terms of conducting performances. Performances of two previously written operas, which Rossini radically reworked for Paris, were a great success. And most importantly, he composed the comic opera “Count Ory” (Le comte Ory), which was, as one might expect, a huge success.

Rossini's next work, which appeared in August 1829, was the opera "William Tell" (Guillaume Tell), a work considered the composer's greatest achievement.

Recognized by performers and critics as an absolute masterpiece, this opera nevertheless never aroused such enthusiasm among the public as “The Barber of Seville”, “Semiramis” or “Moses”: ordinary listeners considered “Tell” an opera too long and cold. However, it cannot be denied that opera contains the most beautiful music, and fortunately it has not completely disappeared from the modern world repertoire. All of Rossini's operas created in France were written to French librettos.

After William Tell, Rossini did not write another opera, and in the next four decades he created only two significant compositions in other genres. Such a cessation of composer activity at the very zenith of skill and fame is a unique phenomenon in the history of world musical culture.

During the decade following Tell, Rossini, although keeping an apartment in Paris, lived mainly in Bologna, where he hoped to find the peace necessary after the nervous tension of the previous years.

True, in 1831 he went to Madrid, where the now widely known “Stabat Mater” (in the first edition) appeared, and in 1836 to Frankfurt, where he met F. Mendelssohn, thanks to whom he discovered the work of I.S. Bach.

It can be assumed that the composer was called to Paris not only by court cases. In 1832, Rossini met Olympia Pelissier. Since Rossini’s relationship with his wife had long left much to be desired, in the end the couple decided to separate, and Rossini married Olympia, who became a good wife for the sick composer.

In 1855, Olympia convinced her husband to hire a carriage (he did not recognize trains) and go to Paris. Very slowly his physical and state of mind began to improve, the composer returned to some optimism. Music, which had been a taboo subject for many years, began to come to his mind again.

April 15, 1857 - Olympia's name day - became a turning point of sorts: on this day Rossini dedicated a cycle of romances to his wife, which he composed in secret from everyone. He was followed by a number of small plays - Rossini called them “The Sins of My Old Age”. This music became the basis for the ballet La boutique fantasque.

In 1863, Rossini's last work appeared, Petite messe solennelle. This mass, in essence, is not very solemn and not at all small, but a work of beautiful music and imbued with deep sincerity.

After 19 years, at the request of the Italian government, the coffin with the composer’s body was transported to Florence and buried in the Church of Santa Croce next to the ashes of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and other great Italians.