Gioachino Rossini Free Sheet Music, Program Notes, Recordings and Biography

The Swan of Pesaro and the Art of Speed

The premiere of The Barber of Seville in Rome in 1816 was one of the most legendary fiascos in opera history. Everything that could go wrong did: a singer tripped and gave himself a bloody nose, a cat wandered onto the stage and refused to leave, and the audience, full of rivals and hecklers, hissed and jeered throughout. The young Gioachino Rossini, defeated, snuck home and went to bed. The next night, however, the performance was an electrifying triumph. The same crowds who had jeered him now carried him from the theater on their shoulders in a torchlit procession, hailing him as a genius. This chaotic turnaround perfectly captures the world of Rossini: a world of high stakes, brilliant comedy, and a composer of such phenomenal talent and speed that he could conquer a city overnight.

A Musical Prodigy in Pesaro

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born on a leap day, February 29, 1792, in Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic coast. His father was a horn player and slaughterhouse inspector, and his mother was a talented soprano. The young Rossini grew up in the theater, absorbing music from birth. He was a gifted, if somewhat lazy, student who learned to play the viola, horn, and harpsichord and possessed a beautiful singing voice. He studied at the music school in Bologna, where he quickly demonstrated a remarkable gift for melody and a genius for absorbing and mastering musical forms.

His professional career began at the astonishing age of 18 when he received a commission to write a one-act opera for a theater in Venice. This began a period of frenetic activity. For the next decade, Rossini traveled across Italy, churning out operas for houses in Venice, Milan, and Naples at a breathtaking pace. He became notorious for his speed, often composing entire operas in a matter of weeks and frequently writing the overture the night before the premiere, sometimes while chatting with friends. He famously said, "Give me a laundry list and I will set it to music."

The Barber and the Neapolitan Years

In 1815, Rossini became the musical director of the royal theaters in Naples. This prestigious post gave him access to a first-rate orchestra and some of the greatest singers in the world, including the celebrated Spanish soprano Isabella Colbran, who would become his mistress and later his first wife. For Naples, he composed a series of powerful opere serie (serious operas), such as Otello and Mosè in Egitto, where he expanded the role of the orchestra and wrote out the elaborate vocal ornamentation himself, taking control away from diva singers.

During a trip to Rome in 1816, he composed his masterpiece. In just under three weeks, he created Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), an opera buffa (comic opera) of such perfection, wit, and melodic invention that it is widely considered the greatest of its genre. From its brilliant overture to the famous tongue-twisting aria for the barber Figaro, "Largo al factotum," the opera is an explosion of comic energy and vocal brilliance that has never left the stage.

The Move to Paris and a Grand Finale

By the 1820s, Rossini was the most famous and celebrated composer in the world. His operas were performed everywhere, and he had amassed a considerable fortune. He, along with Isabella, left Italy for the grander stage of Paris, the operatic capital of Europe. He became the director of the Théâtre-Italien, presenting his own works and those of others.

For the Paris Opéra, he revised some of his earlier Italian works and then composed his final, monumental masterpiece, Guillaume Tell (William Tell). Premiered in 1829, this five-act grand opera was a massive undertaking, a sprawling epic of Swiss patriotism filled with huge choruses, ballets, and music of great scenic beauty. Its overture, with its four distinct sections depicting a calm dawn, a raging storm, a pastoral scene, and a final, thrilling cavalry charge (the "March of the Swiss Soldiers"), is one of the most famous pieces of music ever written.

The Great Renunciation and a Gourmet Retirement

Then, at the age of 37, at the absolute height of his fame and power, Rossini did something unprecedented: he retired. After the premiere of William Tell, he never wrote another opera. The reasons for "The Great Renunciation" remain a source of endless debate. He suffered from chronic ill health, he was wealthy enough to live comfortably without working, and the changing political climate in France may have soured his ambitions. But perhaps he simply felt he had said all he had to say, and that his style of opera was being superseded by the grander works of composers like Meyerbeer.

For the next 40 years, Rossini lived a second life as a celebrated wit, host, and gourmet in Paris. His salon was a famous gathering spot for the artists and intellectuals of the day. He dedicated himself to the pleasures of food, and the classic dish "Tournedos Rossini"—a fillet steak served with foie gras and black truffles—is named in his honor. He composed very little during this long retirement, with two notable exceptions: a large-scale sacred work, the Stabat Mater, and a collection of over 150 short, witty vocal and piano pieces he ironically called Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age). In his final years, he composed one last major work, the Petite messe solennelle.

Rossini died in Paris in 1868, a beloved and legendary figure. His influence on the generation of Italian opera composers who followed him—including Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, and the young Giuseppe Verdi—was immense. He had perfected the forms and vocal style of bel canto and left behind a legacy of operas that continue to delight audiences with their irresistible melody, rhythm, and theatrical flair.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

References and Further Reading

• Osborne, Richard. Rossini: His Life and Works. Oxford University Press, 2007.

• Servadio, Gaia. Rossini: A Life. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003.

• Stendhal. Life of Rossini. Translated by Richard N. Coe. University of Washington Press, 1970.

• Till, Nicholas. Rossini: His Life and Times. Midas Books, 1983.