Verification test of the life and work of Rossini. Italian composer Rossini: biography, creativity, life story and best works. Talented bel canto singer

ROSSINI, GIOACCHINO(Rossini, Gioacchino) (1792–1868), Italian opera composer, author of the immortal Barber of Seville. Born on February 29, 1792 in Pesaro in the family of a city trumpeter (herald) and a singer. Very early he fell in love with music, 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 composition was a one-act farce opera. Promissory note for marriage (La cambiale di matrimonio, 1810) – was staged in Venice. It was followed by a number of operas of the same type, including two - Touchstone (La pietra del paragone, 1812) and Silk staircase (La scala di seta, 1812) – are still popular.

Finally, in 1813, Rossini composed two operas that immortalized his name: Tancred (Tancredi) by Tasso and then a two-act opera buffa Italian in Algeria (L'italiana in Algeri), triumphantly accepted 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 that retained its charm Turk in Italy, Il Turkey in Italy, 1814) – a kind of “pair” to the opera Italian in Algeria) was not successful. In 1815, Rossini was lucky again, this time in Naples, where he signed a contract with the impresario of the San Carlo Theater. It's about opera Elizabeth, 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 and mistress of the impresario (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 was opera Barber 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 an opera there in December 1816, which was perhaps most highly appreciated by his contemporaries - Othello according to Shakespeare: there are truly beautiful passages in it, but the work is spoiled by the libretto, which distorts Shakespeare's tragedy. Rossini composed the next opera again for Rome: his Cinderella (La cenerentola, 1817) was subsequently favorably received by the public; the premiere did not give any grounds for assumptions about future success. However, Rossini took the failure much more calmly. Also in 1817, he traveled to Milan to stage an opera. Thieving Magpie (La gazza ladra) - an elegantly orchestrated melodrama, now almost forgotten, except for the magnificent overture. Upon his return to Naples, Rossini staged an opera there at the end of the year Armida (Armida), which was warmly received and is still rated much higher than Thieving Magpie: upon resurrection Armids In our time, we can still feel the tenderness, if not the sensuality, that this music radiates.

Over the next four years, Rossini managed to compose a dozen more operas, mostly not particularly interesting. However, before the termination of the contract with Naples, he presented the city with two outstanding works. In 1818 he wrote an opera Moses in Egypt (Mosé in Egitto), which soon conquered Europe; in fact, this is a kind of oratorio, notable here are the majestic choirs and the famous “Prayer”. In 1819 Rossini presented Maiden of the Lake (La donna del lago), which had a somewhat more modest success, but contained charming romantic music. When the composer eventually left Naples (1820), he took Isabella Colbran with him and married her, but their subsequent family life was not very happy.

In 1822, Rossini, accompanied by his wife, left Italy for the first time: he entered into an agreement with his old friend, the impresario of the San Carlo Theater, who now became director Vienna Opera. The composer brought his last job– opera Zelmira (Zelmira), which won the author unprecedented success. True, some musicians, led by K.M. von Weber, sharply criticized Rossini, but others, and 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, which he later recalled in a conversation with R. Wagner.

In the autumn of the same year, the composer was summoned to Verona by Prince Metternich himself: Rossini was supposed to honor the conclusion of the Holy Alliance with cantatas. In February 1823 he composed a new opera for Venice - Semiramis (Semiramida), from which only the overture now remains in the concert repertoire. As it were, Semiramis 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, Semiramis passed with such brilliance in other countries that after it the reputation of Rossini as the largest opera composer 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 received 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 At that time, he received an invitation to Paris as artistic director of the Teatro Italien opera house. The significance of this contract, firstly, is that it determined the composer’s place of residence until the end of his days, and secondly, that it confirmed the absolute superiority of Rossini as an opera composer. It must be remembered that Paris was then the center of the musical universe; an invitation to Paris was the highest honor imaginable for a musician.

Rossini began his new duties on December 1, 1824. Apparently, he managed to improve the management of the Italian Opera, especially in terms of conducting performances. The performances of two previously written operas, which Rossini radically reworked for Paris, were a great success, and most importantly, he composed a charming comic opera Count Ory (Le comte Ory). (It was, predictably, a huge success when it was revived in 1959.) Next piece Rossini, who appeared in August 1829, became an opera William Tell (Guillaume Tell), a work generally considered the composer's greatest achievement. Recognized by performers and critics as an absolute masterpiece, this opera has never aroused such enthusiasm among the public as Barber of Seville, Semiramis or even Moses: ordinary listeners thought Tellya the opera is too long and cold. However, it cannot be denied that the second act contains the most beautiful music, and fortunately, this opera has not completely disappeared from the modern world repertoire and the listener of our days has the opportunity to make his own judgment about it. Let us only note that all Rossini’s operas created in France were written to French librettos.

After William Tell Rossini wrote no more operas, and in the next four decades he created only two significant compositions in other genres. Needless to say, such a cessation of composer activity at the very zenith of skill and fame is a unique phenomenon in the history of the world. musical culture. Many different explanations for this phenomenon have been proposed, but, of course, no one knows the full truth. Some said that Rossini's departure was caused by his rejection of the new Parisian opera idol - J. Meyerbeer; others pointed to the insult caused to Rossini by the actions of the French government, which tried to terminate the contract with the composer after the revolution in 1830. Mention was also made of the deterioration of the musician’s well-being and even his allegedly incredible laziness. Perhaps all the factors mentioned above played a role, except the last one. Please note that when leaving Paris after William Tell, Rossini had the firm intention of starting a new opera ( Faust). He is also known to have pursued and won a six-year lawsuit against the French government over his pension. As for his state of health, having experienced the shock of the death of his beloved mother in 1827, Rossini actually felt unwell, at first not very strong, but later progressing with alarming speed. Everything else is more or less plausible speculation.

During the next Tellem For decades, Rossini, although he kept his 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), and in 1836 - to Frankfurt, where he met F. Mendelssohn and thanks to him discovered the work of J. S. Bach. But still, it was Bologna (not counting regular trips to Paris in connection with the litigation) that remained the composer’s permanent residence. It can be assumed that it was not only court cases that called him to Paris. In 1832 Rossini met Olympia Pelissier. 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 Rossini. Finally, in 1855, after a scandal in Bologna and disappointment from Florence, Olympia convinced her husband to hire a carriage (he did not recognize trains) and go to Paris. Very slowly his physical and mental condition began to improve; a share of, if not gaiety, then wit returned to him; 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 kind of turning point: 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; the quality of this music requires no comment for fans Magic shop (La boutique fantasque) - a ballet for which the plays served as the basis. Finally, in 1863, the last - and truly significant - work of Rossini appeared: Little Solemn Mass (Petite messe solennelle). This mass is not very solemn and not at all small, but beautiful in music and imbued with deep sincerity, which attracted the attention of the musicians to the composition.

Rossini died on November 13, 1868 and was buried in Paris at the Père Lachaise cemetery. 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.

Gioachino Rossini is rightfully considered one of the greatest composers in history. His famous opera “The Barber of Seville” is probably remembered by every person familiar with music. This article will detail the life of Gioachino Rossini, as well as his most famous musical works.

Rossini's childhood

Many different books and publications have been written about Rossini. The most common among them is biographical work Elena Bronfin 1973. This book describes in detail all those events that, in one way or another, were connected with the life and work of the composer Rossini. Elena Bronfin describes in detail the childhood years of little Gioacchino, tracing his path to his creative peak.

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 in the small Italian town of Pesaro. Gioacchino's parents were musicians. His father played wind instruments, and his mother had a beautiful voice with an expressive soprano. Naturally, the parents tried to make little Gioacchino fall in love with music.

Gioacchino's carefree childhood was overshadowed by French Revolution. Besides myself future composer, according to many sources, was a very lazy and even disobedient boy. Parents saved the situation in time by sending Gioacchino to study with a local pastor. It was the priest who taught Rossini all the necessary composition lessons.

The first creative endeavors of young Gioacchino

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Rossini family moved to Lugo. It was in this city that young Gioacchino gave his first opera concert. Possessing a very high treble, the future great composer aroused considerable interest among the public.

Some sources indicate that Rossini began releasing his first works as a composer by the age of 12. In those small sonatas written by the very young Gioacchino, one can trace very competent inclusions of operatic tendencies.

Of great importance for Gioacchino’s future creative manifestations was his friendship with the famous Italian tenor Mombelli. Together they wrote musical numbers, composed a libretto and developed theatrical performances. In 1808, the composer Rossini wrote an entire mass. It was a male choir, accompanied by a vibrant accompaniment of organ and orchestra.

About the early creative period

In 1810, Gioachino's fate changed dramatically: he was noticed by two famous Italian musicians of that time: Moranli and Morolli. This couple wrote a letter to Rossini, in which they expressed their desire to see young Gioachino in Venice. The aspiring composer immediately agreed. Gioacchino's task was to write a musical theme for the theater libretto. The production was called "Marriage by Bill". It was this work that became Rossini’s brightest debut as a composer.

The main quality that the composer Rossini possessed was the incredible speed and ease of writing music. This was noted by many of the musician’s contemporaries: Gioacchino seemed to have long known and understood exactly how this or that composition should be built. At the same time, the musician himself, according to many sources, led a very chaotic and idle lifestyle. In Venice, he walked a lot and had fun, but at the same time he always managed to write the required order on time.

"The Barber of Seville"

In 1813, the composer Rossini wrote a truly grandiose composition that turned his whole life upside down - “An Italian Woman in Algeria”. Excellent music, deep content of the libretto, bright patriotic sentiments that the work set - all this in the best possible way affected the future career of the composer.

However, the musician started something more grandiose. A monumental two-act opera that would become the pearl of Italian music is what Gioachino Rossini sought. "The Barber of Seville" became such an opera. The work was based on the famous 19th-century comedy by Beaumarchais.

The main feature of Gioacchino’s work on the work was, again, incredible lightness. Written in less than a month, The Barber of Seville became Rossini's first work, famous outside of Italy. Thus, an amazing incident happened with Gioacchino in the Austrian Empire: it was there that the composer met Beethoven himself, who spoke positively about the “barber”.

New ideas of Rossini

Gioacchino's main specialty was comedy. Composer Rossini composed musical themes specifically for light, comedic librettos. However, in 1817, the musician went beyond the comic genre, which was so often associated with the name of Gioachino Rossini. The opera "The Thieving Magpie" was one of the composer's first works, which was rather of a somewhat dramatic nature. The opera Othello, written in 1816, was actually a Shakespearean tragedy.

Gioacchino became more and more full of ideas and new plans. The most important milestone in Gioacchino’s creative path was the monumental opera seria called “Moses in Egypt.” Rossini worked on this work for a month and a half. The premiere of "Moses" took place in Naples, where it was accompanied by enormous success.

The composer Rossini moved further and further away from “light” genres, composing heavier and more monumental works. Such famous historical series as "Mohammed II", "Zelmira", "Semiramis" were a major success both in Italy and abroad.

Vienna, London and Paris

The Austrian, English and Parisian periods played a big role in Rossini's life. The reason for sending the composer to Vienna was resounding success opera "Zelmira". In Austria, the composer first faced massive unfavorable criticism: many German composers believed that any opera by Rossini did not deserve the success that accompanied Gioacchino almost throughout Europe. However, Beethoven was not among the haters. Already completely deaf, Ludwig carefully followed Rossini’s work, reading his music, literally, from music paper. Beethoven showed great interest in Gioachino; he spoke extremely flatteringly of almost all of his works.

In 1823, the composer received an invitation to the Royal London Theater. Rossini's opera "Italian in Algiers" and some of his other works were performed here. It was in England that Gioacchino acquired both devoted admirers and fierce enemies. Rossini received even more hatred in Paris: envious musicians tried in every possible way to discredit the composer. For Rossini, these were times of intense controversy with critics.

Almost all musical figures of the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries say one thing: Rossini “raised from its knees” the unusually low level of musical creativity in England and France. Inspired by the works of Gioacchino, musicians finally began to express themselves, providing the world with more and more beauty.

Getting closer to the creative peak

At the end of the twenties of the 19th century, Rossini agreed to work as the head of the Italian Opera House in Paris. However, he did not stay in this position for long: after a couple of years, Rossini’s work became widely known throughout Europe, and therefore the composer decided to accept the title of “His Majesty’s Inspector General of Singing and Composer in France.” Gioacchino received an honorary position under the king.

In Paris, Rossini wrote another musical masterpiece called "Journey to Reims, or the Hotel of the Golden Line." This opera was performed at the coronation of Charles X. However, the work was not successful among the general public.

After The Journey, Rossini began developing the monumental opera Mahomet II. This heroic-tragic work was distinguished by many innovative elements, which many critics could not help but notice. Next were written "Moses in Egypt" and "The Siege of Corinth." All these works had a strong influence on the young French composers: Aubert, Boualdieu, Herold and others.

"William Tell"

Rossini, working in two directions of French opera at once - comic and tragic, conceived the idea of ​​staging a large work, completely original and innovative. Something new, unlike any previous work - this is what Gioachino Rossini sought. Although the works of past years were considered innovative, they were only in places. That is why the composer began composing an opera about the brave shooter Wilhelm, the hero of an old Swiss legend.

The main feature of the work was the borrowing of elements of local Swiss flavor: folk tunes combined with Italian classical songs, composed an extraordinarily original opera. It is not surprising that everyone was looking forward to "Wilhelm". The work was in development for about six months. This four-act opera premiered in 1828.

The reaction from both the public and critics was very cold. Many found the work tedious, complex and simply boring. In addition, the essay lasted about 4 hours. Almost no one attended the opera. The theater management, trying to somehow save the situation, greatly shortened the work and began presenting it in a distorted form. Of course, this did not suit Rossini. He left the theater, promising himself never to continue his activities as a composer.

However, not everyone was outraged by the opera. Many aspiring composers saw something amazing and beautiful in “Wilhelm”. Over time, the work nevertheless acquired the status of a masterpiece, one of the cult operas of Gioachino Rossini.

Biography of the former composer

Gioacchino fell silent at the age of 37. Behind him there are about 40 operas, enormous fame and resounding success. The rapid development of romanticism in Europe also influenced Rossini's departure from art.

Having remained in oblivion for several years, Gioacchino nevertheless began to rarely write small overtures. However, there was almost nothing left of the previous intensity. Having moved to Italy, the composer became interested in teaching. Rossini directed the Bolognese Lyceum, of which he himself was a student as a child. Thanks to Gioachino music education received its rapid and high-quality development.

In 1855, Rossini again decided to return to Paris. This is where he spends the last 13 years of his life.

Rossini the cook

What could have fascinated Gioachino Rossini? Overtures, suites and operas are already left behind. The once great composer decided to firmly move away from writing music. However, he broke his promise only a few times. So, in 1863, the “Little Solemn Mass” was written - a fairly famous work to this day.

Gioacchino was an exquisite cook. The witty Rossini came up with an incredible number of different dishes. The composer was also a great lover of winemaking. His cellar was simply bursting with a wide variety of wines, all types and varieties. However, cooking was Rossini's undoing. Former composer began to suffer from obesity and stomach diseases.

Death of the composer

No one else in Paris was as famous as Gioachino Rossini. “The Barber of Seville”, “William Tell” - the author of all these works, although retired, enjoyed great success in France.

Rossini gave grand receptions. The most famous personalities and political figures sought the opportunity to attend them. Sometimes Rossini conducted, while still attracting the attention of the European musical community. Gioachino's personality was truly great: Wagner, Franz Liszt, Saint-Saëns and many other of the world's greatest composers communicated with him.

The composer died on November 13, 1868. The composer bequeathed all his property to the Italian town of Pesaro, the place where the musician was born.

Heritage

Gioacchino left behind about 40 major operas and even more overtures with small essays. Rossini wrote his first real opera, The Promissory Note for Marriage, at the age of 18. It is impossible not to note another grandiose work created in 1817 - the opera “Cinderella”. Gioachino Rossini wrote a funny and light comedy based on famous fairy tale. The opera was a great success with both critics and the general public.

In addition to operas, Gioacchino wrote a variety of psalms, masses, cants and hymns. Rossini's legacy is truly great. His inventive and innovative style has been studied by many composers for many years. Rossini's music remains relevant today.

(29 II 1792, Pesaro - 13 November 1868, Passy, ​​near Paris)

Gioachino Rossini Rossini opened the brilliant 19th century in the music of Italy, followed by a whole galaxy of opera creators: Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, as if passing the baton of the world glory of Italian opera to each other. The author of 37 operas, Rossini raised the genre of opera buffa to unattainable heights. His “The Barber of Seville,” written almost a century after the birth of the genre, became the pinnacle and symbol of opera buffa in general. On the other hand, it was Rossini who completed the almost one and a half century history of the most famous opera genre - opera seria, which conquered all of Europe, and opened the way for the development of a new heroic-patriotic opera of the era of romanticism that replaced it. The main strength of the composer, heir to Italian national traditions, is the inexhaustible inventiveness of melodies, fascinating, brilliant, virtuoso.

A singer, conductor, and pianist, Rossini was distinguished by his rare friendliness and sociability. Without any envy, he spoke with admiration about the successes of his young Italian contemporaries, ready to help, advise, and support. His admiration for Beethoven, whom Rossini met in Vienna in recent years his life. In one of his letters, he wrote about this in his usual humorous manner: “I study Beethoven twice a week, Haydn four, and Mozart every day... Beethoven is a colossus who often gives you a good punch in the side, whereas Mozart always amazing." Rossini called Weber, with whom they competed, “a great genius, and also a genuine one, for he created originality and did not imitate anyone.” He also liked Mendelssohn, especially his Songs without Words. When they met, Rossini asked Mendelssohn to play him Bach, “a lot of Bach”: “His genius is simply overwhelming. If Beethoven is a miracle among men, then Bach is a miracle among gods. I subscribed to full meeting his works." Rossini treated even Wagner, whose work was very far from his operatic ideals, with respect and was interested in the principles of his reform, as evidenced by their meeting in Paris in 1860.

Wit was characteristic of Rossini not only in his work, but also in life. He claimed that this was foreshadowed by the very date of his birth - February 29, 1792. The composer's homeland is the seaside town of Pesaro. His father played the trumpet and horn, his mother, although she did not know notes, was a singer and sang by ear (according to Rossini, “out of a hundred Italian singers eighty are in the same position"). Both were members of a traveling troupe. Gioachino, who showed an early talent for music, at the age of 7, along with writing, arithmetic and Latin, studied the harpsichord, solfeggio and singing at a boarding school in Bologna. At the age of 8, he was already performing in churches, where he was entrusted with the most difficult soprano roles, and once was assigned a child's role in a popular opera. Admiring listeners predicted that Rossini would become famous singer. He accompanied himself from sight, read orchestral scores fluently, and worked as an accompanist and choir director in the theaters of Bologna. In 1804, he began systematically studying the viola and violin; in the spring of 1806, he entered the Bologna Musical Lyceum, and within a few months the famous Bologna Academy of Music unanimously elected him as a member. Then the future glory of Italy was only 14 years old. And at 15 he wrote his first opera. Stendhal, who heard it several years later, admired its melodies - “the first colors created by Rossini’s imagination; they had all the freshness of the morning of his life.”

He studied at the Lyceum Rossini (including playing the cello) for about 4 years. His counterpoint teacher was the famous Padre Mattei. Subsequently, Rossini regretted that he could not take a full composition course - he had to earn a living and help his parents. During his years of study, he independently became acquainted with the music of Haydn and Mozart, organized a string quartet, where he performed the viola part; At his insistence, the ensemble replayed many of Haydn's works. He borrowed the scores of Haydn's oratorios and Mozart's operas from a music lover and rewrote them: first, only the vocal part, for which he composed his own accompaniment, and then compared it with the author's. However, Rossini dreamed of a much more prestigious career as a singer: “when the composer received fifty ducats, the singer received a thousand.” According to him, he fell on the path of composing almost by accident - a mutation of his voice began. At the Lyceum he tried his hand at different genres: wrote 2 symphonies, 5 string quartets, variations for solo instruments and orchestra, a cantata. One of the symphonies and a cantata were performed at lyceum concerts.

After completing his studies, the 18-year-old composer saw his opera for the first time on November 3, 1810, on the stage of the Venetian theater. The following autumn season, Rossini was engaged by the theater in Bologna to write a two-act opera buffa. During 1812, he composed and staged 6 operas, including one zepa. “I had ideas quickly and all I needed was time to write them down. I've never been one of those people who sweat when composing music." The opera buffa “Touchstone” was staged at the largest theater in Italy, La Scala in Milan, where it was performed 50 times in a row; to listen to her, according to Stendhal, “crowds of people came to Milan from Parma, Piacenza, Bergamo and Brescia and from all the cities within twenty miles in the area. Rossini became the first man of his region; everyone wanted to see him at all costs.” And the opera brought the 20-year-old author exemption from military service: the general commanding in Milan liked “Touchstone” so much that he turned to the viceroy, and the army was missing one soldier.

The turning point in Rossini’s work was the year 1813, when, within three and a half months, two operas popular to this day (Tancred and Italian in Algiers) saw the light of day in the theaters of Venice, and the third, which failed at the premiere and is now forgotten, brought an immortal overture - Rossini used it twice more, and now everyone knows it as the overture to The Barber of Seville. After 4 years, the impresario of one of the best theaters Italy and the largest in Europe, Neapolitan San Carlo, the enterprising and successful Domenico Barbaia, nicknamed the Viceroy of Naples, signed a long-term contract with Rossini for 6 years. The prima donna of the troupe was the beautiful Spaniard Isabella Colbran, who had a luxurious voice and dramatic talent. She had known the composer for a long time - in the same year, 14-year-old Rossini and Colbran, 7 years older than him, were elected members of the Bologna Academy. Now she was a friend of Barbaya and at the same time enjoyed the patronage of the king. Colbran soon became Rossini's lover, and in 1822, his wife.

Over the course of 6 years (1816-1822), the composer wrote 10 seria operas for Naples, based on Colbran, and 9 for other theaters, mainly buffa, since Colbran did not perform comic roles. Among them are “The Barber of Seville” and “Cinderella”. Then a new one is born romantic genre, which will subsequently supplant the opera seria: a folk-heroic opera dedicated to the theme of the struggle for liberation, with the depiction of large masses of people, the widespread use of choral scenes, occupying no less place than arias (“Moses”, “Mohammed II”).

1822 opens new page in the life of Rossini. In the spring, he and the Neapolitan troupe go to Vienna, where his operas have been successfully staged for 6 years. For 4 months, Rossini basked in the rays of fame, he was recognized on the streets, crowds gathered under the windows of his house to see the composer, and sometimes listen to him sing. In Vienna, he meets Beethoven - sick, lonely, huddled in a squalid apartment, whom Rossini tries in vain to help. The Vienna tour was followed by a London tour that was even longer and more successful. For 7 months, until the end of July 1824, he conducted his operas in London, performed as an accompanist and singer in public and private concerts, including in the royal palace: the English king is one of his most loyal fans. The cantata “The Complaint of the Muses on the Death of Lord Byron” was also written here, at the premiere of which the composer sang the part of the solo tenor. At the end of the tour, Rossini took out a fortune from England - 175 thousand francs, which made him remember the fee for his first opera - 200 lire. And not even 15 years have passed since then...

After London, Rossini waited for Paris and a well-paid position as head of the Italian Opera. However, Rossini remained in this post for only 2 years, although he made a dizzying career: “composer of His Majesty the King and inspector of singing of all musical institutions” (the highest musical position in France), member of the Council for the Management of the Royal Music Schools, member of the committee of the Grand Opera Theater. Here Rossini created his innovative score - the folk-heroic opera William Tell. Born on the eve of the revolution of 1830, it was perceived by contemporaries as a direct call for uprising. And at this peak, at the age of 37, Rossini stopped his operatic activities. However, he did not stop composing. 3 years before his death, he said to one of his guests: “Do you see this bookcase full of musical manuscripts? All this was written after William Tell. But I don't publish anything; I write because I cannot do otherwise.”

Rossini's largest works of this period belong to the genre of spiritual oratorio (Stabat Mater, Little Solemn Mass). A lot of chamber vocal music was also created. The most famous ariettas and duets were “ Musical evenings", others were included in the "Album of Italian Songs", "Mixture of Vocal Music". Rossini also wrote instrumental pieces, often providing them with ironic titles: “Restrained Pieces”, “Four Appetizers and Four Desserts”, “Painkiller Music”, etc.

From 1836, Rossini returned to Italy for almost 20 years. He devotes himself to teaching work, supporting the newly founded Experimental Musical Gymnasium in Florence, and the Bologna Musical Lyceum, which he himself once graduated from. For the last 13 years, Rossini has been living in France again, both in Paris itself and in a villa on the outskirts of Passy, ​​surrounded by honor and glory. After the death of Colbran (1845), from whom he separated about 10 years earlier, Rossini married the Frenchwoman Olympia Pelissier. Contemporaries describe her as an unremarkable woman, but endowed with a sympathetic and kind heart, but Rossini's Italian friends consider her stingy and inhospitable. The composer regularly organizes receptions that are famous throughout Paris. These “Rossini Saturdays” gather the most brilliant society, attracted by both sophisticated conversation and exquisite cuisine, of which the composer was reputed to be an expert and was even the inventor of some culinary recipes. The sumptuous dinner was followed by a concert, the owner often sang and accompanied the singers. The last such evening took place on September 20, 1868, when the composer was 77 years old; he performed the recently composed elegy “Farewell to Life.”

Rossini died on November 13, 1868 at his villa in Passy near Paris. In his will he allocated two and a half million francs for the creation music school in his native Pesaro, where 4 years earlier a monument was erected to him, as well as a large sum for the establishment in Passy of a home for elderly singers - French and Italian, who had made a career in France. About 4 thousand people attended the funeral mass. The funeral procession was accompanied by two battalions of infantry and bands of two legions of the National Guard, who performed excerpts from operas and spiritual works by Rossini.

The composer was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris next to Bellini, Cherubini and Chopin. Upon learning of Rossini's death, Verdi wrote: “A great name has died out in the world! It was the most popular name our era, the widest fame - and this was the glory of Italy! He invited Italian composers to honor the memory of Rossini by writing a collective Requiem, which was to be solemnly performed in Bologna on the first anniversary of his death. In 1887, Rossini's embalmed body was transported to Florence and buried in the Cathedral of Santa Croce, in the pantheon of the great men of Italy, next to the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.

A. Koenigsberg

Italian composer. One of the outstanding representatives of the opera genre in the 19th century. His work is at the same time the completion of the development music XVIII V. and opens the way to the artistic achievements of romanticism. His first opera, Demetrio and Polibio (1806), was written quite in line with the traditional opera seria. Rossini turned to this genre more than once. Among the best works are "Tancred" (1813), "Othello" (1816), "Moses in Egypt" (1818), "Zelmira" (1822, Naples, libretto by A. Tottola), "Semiramis" (1823).

Rossini made a huge contribution to the development of opera buffa. The first experiments in this genre were “Promissory Note for Marriage” (1810, Venice, libretto by G. Rossi), “Signor Bruschino” (1813) and a number of other works. It was in opera buffa that Rossini created his own type of overture, based on the contrast of a slow introduction followed by a rapid allegro. We see one of the earliest classical examples of such an overture in his opera The Silk Staircase (1812). Finally, in 1813, Rossini created his first masterpiece in the buffo genre: “An Italian Woman in Algiers,” where the features of the composer’s mature style are already clearly visible, especially in the remarkable finale of the first act. His success was also the opera buffa “The Turk in Italy” ( 1814). Two years later, the composer wrote his best opera, “The Barber of Seville,” which rightfully occupies an outstanding place in the history of the genre.

Created in 1817, Cinderella demonstrates Rossini's desire to expand the palette of artistic media. Purely buffoonish elements are replaced by a combination of comic and lyrical principles; in the same year, “The Thieving Magpie” appears, written in the genre of opera-semiseria, in which lyrical-comedy elements coexist with tragic ones (how can one not recall Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”). In 1819, Rossini created one of his most romantic works - “The Virgin of the Lake” (based on the novel by W. Scott).

Among his later works, “The Siege of Corinth” (1826, Paris, is a French edition of his earlier opera series “Mahomet II”), “Count Ory” (1828), written in the style of French comic opera (in which the composer used a number of the most successful the theme from the opera "Journey to Reims", created three years earlier on the occasion of the coronation of King Charles X in Reims), and, finally, the last masterpiece Rossini - "William Tell" (1829). This opera, with its drama, individually outlined characters, large cross-cutting scenes, already belongs to another musical era- the age of romanticism. This essay concludes creative path Rossini as an opera composer. Over the next 30 years, he created a number of vocal and instrumental works (among them “Stabat Mater”, etc.), vocal and piano miniatures.

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: PISCES

NATIONALITY: ITALIAN

MUSICAL STYLE: CLASSICISM

ICONIC WORK: WILLIAM TELL (1829)

WHERE HAVE YOU HEARD THIS MUSIC: AS THE LEITMOTHIO OF THE LONE RANGER, OF COURSE.

WISE WORDS: “NOTHING IS LIKE INSPIRATION. HOW STRONG DEADLINES ARE. AND IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER YOU HAVE A COPYER STANDING OVER YOUR SOUL, COMING UP TO PICK UP YOUR FINISHED WORK, OR YOU ARE HORRIZED BY AN IMPRESARIO AND RIPPING YOUR HAIR OUT OF IMPATIENCE. IN MY TIME, ALL IMPRESSARIOS IN ITALY WENT BALD BY THE YEARS OF THIRTY.”

The fame that befell Gioachino Rossini when he was not yet twenty-five years old fascinated Europe. In Italy he enjoyed such adoration as in present century falls only to the share of pop idols of teenage audiences and soloists of “boy” groups. (Imagine a young Justin Timberlake, mastering the secrets of counterpoint and standing at the conductor's stand.)

Everyone went to his operas, everyone memorized his songs. Any Venetian gondolier, Bolognese merchant or Roman pimp could easily break out into Figaro's aria from The Barber of Seville. On the street, Rossini was invariably surrounded by a crowd, and the most ardent admirers strove to cut off a lock of his hair as a souvenir.

And then he disappeared. Left everything behind and retired. Nothing like this has ever happened before in the world of music. A man who was paid £30,000 for a single tour in London suddenly puts an end to his career - it seemed unthinkable. Even more unthinkable was the man Rossini became ten years later: a recluse who barely got out of bed, paralyzed by depression and tormented by insomnia. He became fat and bald.

"Brilliant" of the Italian opera turned into a wreck with shattered nerves. What is the reason for such a change? In short, a changed time that Rossini could not - or would not - understand.

IF YOU FAIL TO COMPOSE, YOU WILL NOT EXIT

The composer's father, Giuseppe Rossini, was a traveling musician, and when he got tired of moving from place to place, he settled in Pesaro, a city on the Adriatic, where he became friends with the singer (soprano) and part-time seamstress Anna Guidarini - it was rumored, however, that Anna was together I worked on the panel with my sister from time to time. Be that as it may, in 1791, the young people got married when Anna was five months pregnant. Soon she gave birth to a son.

Gioacchino's childhood was relatively prosperous until Napoleon invaded Northern Italy. Giuseppe Rossini was seized by revolutionary fever, and in the future his sorrows and joys depended entirely on the fortune of the French general - in other words, he was in and out of prison. Anna developed her son’s obvious musical gift as best she could. And although Gioacchino was not mentored by musical luminaries, in 1804 the twelve-year-old boy was already singing on stage. The public enjoyed his high, clear voice, and, like Joseph Haydn, Gioacchino considered joining the ranks of castrati. His father wholeheartedly supported the idea of ​​castrating his son, but Anna resolutely opposed the implementation of this plan.

Real fame came to Rossini when, at the age of eighteen, having moved to Venice, he wrote his first opera, The Marriage Bill. This musical comedy became an immediate hit. And suddenly Rossini found himself in demand by all opera houses in Italy. He was respected for the speed with which he wrote scores: he could compose an opera in a month, a few weeks, and even (according to him) in eleven days. The work was made easier by the fact that Rossini did not hesitate to transfer melodies from one opera to another. Usually he did not begin to fulfill the order immediately, and these delays drove the impresario to fury. Rossini later said that when he was very late with the score of The Thieving Magpie, the stage director put him in custody, contracting four muscular stage workers for this purpose, and did not let him out until the composer had completed the score.

HOW MANY BARBERS DO YOU NEED FOR ONE OPERA?

In 1815 in Rome, Rossini worked on his own famous opera"The Barber of Seville" He later claimed that he completed the score in just thirteen days. Probably, in a sense, this was so, considering that Rossini adapted the overture, already used three times, into The Barber, only slightly reshaping it.

The libretto was written based on the famous play by Pierre de Beaumarchais, the first part of the trilogy about the magnificent Figaro. Unfortunately, the famous Roman composer Giovanni Paisiello had already written an opera on the same plot in 1782. In 1815, Paisiello was a very old man, but still had devoted fans who plotted to disrupt the premiere of Rossini's opera. The “oppositionists” booed and ridiculed every act, and at the exits the prima donnas uttered such a loud “boo-oo” that the orchestra could not be heard. In addition, they threw a cat onto the stage, and when the baritone tried to shoo the animal away, the audience meowed mockingly.

Rossini fell into despair. Locking himself in his hotel room, he flatly refused to attend the second performance, which, contrary to Paisiello’s admirers, ended in triumph. The impresario rushed to Rossini's hotel, persuading him to get dressed and go to the theater - the audience was eager to greet the composer. “I saw this audience in a coffin!” - Rossini shouted.

MUSIC, WEDDING AND MEETING WITH THE MAESTRO

By the beginning of the 1820s, Rossini became cramped within the framework of comic opera, and at the same time within Italy. Traveling around Italian cities no longer appealed to him, and he was tired of “planing” scores one after another. Rossini finally wanted to be taken as a serious composer. He also dreamed of a settled life. In 1815, Rossini met Isabella Colbran, a talented soprano singer, and fell in love with her; at that time, Colbran was the mistress of a Neapolitan opera impresario, who generously gave up the diva to the composer. In 1822, Rossini and Colbran got married.

The opportunity to show the world a more mature Rossini presented itself in the same year when the composer was invited to Vienna. He jumped at the invitation, he was eager to try out his works on a new, different audience and get to know the famous Beethoven. Rossini was horrified to discover that the great composer dressed in rags and lived in a smelly apartment, but a long conversation took place between the two colleagues. The German master praised The Barber of Seville, but then recommended that Rossini continue to write nothing but comic operas. “You do not have sufficient knowledge of music to cope with real drama,” concluded Beethoven. Rossini tried to laugh it off, but in reality the Italian composer was deeply hurt by the suggestion that he was incapable of composing serious music.

OPPRESSED BY PROGRESS

The following year, Rossini again went on tour abroad to France and England. At first everything went well, but crossing the English Channel on a newfangled steam ship scared the composer almost to death. He fell ill for a week. And none of the honors with which he was showered in Britain - the favor of the king, long standing ovations at the opera, rave reviews in the press - helped him forget about the nightmare he had experienced. Rossini left England, having replenished his wallet considerably, but with the firm intention of never returning there again.

During the same period, the first signs of a devastating depression began to appear. Even though Rossini settled in Paris, and his new opera “William Tell” was a success, he only said that it was time for him to take a break from business. He tried to compose less lightweight music and even created the oratorio Stabat Mater (“Standing the Grieving Mother”), but deep down he was convinced that no one would take him, much less his oratorio, seriously

THE PERFORMANCE OF ONE OF ROSSINI'S OPERAS WAS DISTRESSED BY SUPPORTERS OF A RIVAL K0MP03IT0RA - THE PUBLIC RESORTED TO EXTREME MEASURES, THROWSING A CAT ON STAGE.

Family life with Colbran became unbearable. Having lost her voice, Isabella became addicted to cards and drinking. Rossini found comfort in the company of Olympia Pelissier, a beautiful and wealthy Parisian courtesan. He did not get along with her for the sake of sex - gonorrhea made Rossini impotent - no, it was a union of a devoted nurse and a helpless patient. In 1837, Rossini officially announced his separation from Isabella and settled with Olympia in Italy. Soon after Isabella died in 1845, Rossini and Pelissier got married.

Nevertheless, the 1840s were a painful time for the composer. The modern world terrified him. Travel around railway brought Rossini to a state of collapse. The new crop of composers like Wagner were puzzling and depressing. And the reasons for the political unrest that engulfed France and Italy remained an inexplicable mystery. Alone for now Italian city After another, he rebelled against Austrian rule, Rossini and Olympia wandered around the country in search of a quiet haven.

The range of physical ailments that Rossini suffered from is impressive: drowsiness, headaches, diarrhea, chronic urethritis and hemorrhoids. It was difficult to persuade him to get out of bed, and at the same time he constantly complained of insomnia. But the most terrible disease was depression, which devoured the composer. He played the piano occasionally and always in a darkened room so that no one could see him crying over the keys.

BETTER... - AND WORSE

At Olympia's insistence, Rossini returned to Paris in 1855, and the depression eased slightly. He began to receive guests, admire the beauty of the city, and even began writing music again. The composer no longer tried to compose either serious music, which he had once passionately dreamed of, or the witty operas that made him famous - Rossini limited himself to short, elegant works that made up albums of vocal and instrumental pieces and ensembles, to which the composer gave the general name “Sins of Old Age.” In one of these albums, called “Four Snacks and Four Sweets” and containing eight parts: “Radishes”, “Anchovies”, “Gherkins”, “Butter”, “Dried Figs”, “Almonds”, “Raisins” and “ Nuts,” Rossini’s music combined with the composer’s newfound gourmandism. However, in the late 1860s, Rossini became seriously ill. He developed rectal cancer, and the treatment caused him much more suffering than the disease itself. Once he even begged the doctor to throw him out the window and thereby end his torment. On Friday, November 13, 1868, he died in the arms of his wife.

BROKEN FOR LOVE

Rossini periodically entered into a love affair with opera singers, and one of these novels unexpectedly turned out to be a blessing for him. Mezzo-soprano Maria Marcolini was at one time the mistress of Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. And when Napoleon announced forced recruitment into the French army, Marcolini, using old connections, obtained exemption from military service for the composer. This timely intervention may have saved Rossini's life - many of the 90,000 Italian conscripts of the French army died during the emperor's abortive invasion of Russia in 1812.

PERSISTENT SMALL

The following joke is told about Rossini: one day friends decided to erect a statue of the composer to commemorate his talent. When they shared this idea with Rossini, he asked how much the monument would cost. “About twenty thousand lire,” they told him. After thinking a little, Rossini declared: “Give me ten thousand lire, and I myself will stand on the pedestal!”

HOW ROSSINI DEALED WITH WAGNER

In 1860, the lodestar of the new German opera, Richard Wagner, paid a visit to Rossini, the faded star of the old Italian opera. Colleagues showered each other with compliments, although Wagner's music seemed sloppy and pretentious to Rossini.

A friend of Rossini once saw the score of Wagner’s Tannhäuser on his piano, turned upside down. The friend tried to play the notes correctly, but Rossini stopped him: “I already played like this, and nothing good came of it. Then I tried it from the bottom up - it turned out much better.”

In addition, Rossini is credited with the following words: “Mr. Wagner has wonderful moments, but each is followed by a quarter of an hour of bad music.”

THE NASTY PRINCESS FROM PESARO

In 1818, while a guest in his hometown of Pesaro, Rossini met Caroline of Brunswick, the wife of the Prince of Wales, with whom the heir to the British throne had long separated. The fifty-year-old princess lived openly with a young lover, Bartolomeo Pergami, and infuriated the Pesaro society with arrogance, ignorance and vulgarity (exactly the same, she drove her husband to white heat).

Rossini refused invitations to the princess's salon and did not bow to Her Highness when meeting her in public places - Caroline could not forgive such an insult. A year later, when Rossini came to Pesaro with the opera The Thieving Magpie, Carolina and Pergami put in the auditorium a whole gang of bribed hooligans who whistled, shouted and waved knives and pistols during the performance. The frightened Rossini was secretly taken out of the theater, and that same night he fled the city. He never performed in Pesaro again.