Gioacchino Rossini: the reluctant hero

Abstract

Rossini is chiefly remembered for operas such as Barber of Seville and William Tell. But in the space of 20 years he wrote no fewer than 39 operas, some of which are rarely heard today, while others are being revived gradually - on CD, in opera houses throughout the world and through the annual festival at Rossini's birthplace, Pesaro. This biography looks at each of the operas, with particular attention to Rossini's treatment of the different kinds of opera current at the time, his development of their component parts, his many innovations and his brilliance as an orchestrator. The book also provides insights into the bizarre, intrigue-ridden opera industry in early 19th-century Italy. Interwoven with musical discussion is an account of Rossini's life and complex personality, his relations with contemporaries such as Verdi, Wagner and Liszt, and a study of the two contrasting women in his life - the flamboyant prima donna, Isabella Colbran, and his second wife, the reserved but dedicated Olympe Pelissier, who stage-managed his legendary Paris soirees. The narrative is accompanied by eye-witness accounts and extracts from Rossini's own correspondence, and complemented by illustrations of stage-sets, topographical and architectural engravings, musical autographs, letters and legal documents, portraits and sketches. The author has also written biographies of Britten, Vivaldi, Paganini, Gershwin and Tchaikovsky.