And now for something completely different ...
Gioachino Rossini's (1792-1868) parents were both working musicians. His father played the horn and
taught at the prestigious Accademia Filharmonica in Bologna, and his mother, although not formally trained, was
a soprano. Rossini was taught and encouraged at home until he eventually enrolled at the Liceo Musicale in
Bologna. After graduation from that institution, the young musician was commissioned by the Venetian Teatro
San Moise to compose La cambiale di matrimonio, a comedy in one act. In 1812, Rossini wrote La pietra del
paragone, for La Scala theater in Milan and was already, at the tender age of 20, Italy's most prominent composer.
In 1815, Rossini accepted a contract to work for the theaters in Naples, where he would remain until 1822,
composing prolifically in comfort. He composed 19 operas during this tenure, focusing his attention on opera
seria and creating one of his most famous serious works, Otello, for the Teatro San Carlos. While he served in
this capacity, Rossini met and courted Isabella Colbran, a local soprano whom he would eventually marry. Other
cities, too, clamored for Rossini's works, and it was for Roman audiences that he composed the sparkling
comedies Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville, 1816) and La cenerentola (Cinderella, 1817).
In 1822, Rossini left Naples and embarked on a European tour. The Italian musician was received enthusiastically
to say the least, and enjoyed fame and acclaim everywhere. Even Beethoven, at the opposite stylistic pole in
the musical scene of the day, praised him. The following year, Rossini was commissioned to write Semiramide,
a serious opera, for La Fenice, a theater in Venice. This work was less successful in its own day than some of
his previous efforts, but spawned several arias that remain part of any vocalist's songbook. In 1824, Rossini
traveled, via London, to Paris where he would live for five years and serve as the music director at the Théâtre
Italien from 1824 to 1826. The composer gained commissions from other opera houses in France, including
the Paris Opéra. Rossini composed his final opera, Guillaume Tell (1829), before retiring from composition
in that genre at the age of 37. Its overture is not only a concert favorite but an unmistakable reflection and
continuation of Beethoven's heroic ideal. The catalog of work Rossini had written at the time of his retirement
included 32 operas, two symphonies, numerous cantatas, and a handful of oratorios and chamber music
pieces. After moving back to Italy, Rossini became a widower in 1845. His marriage to Isabella Colbran had
not been particularly happy, and shortly after her death, the composer married Olympe Pelissier, a woman
who had been his mistress.
In 1855, Rossini, along with his new bride, moved once again, this time settling in Passy, a suburb of Paris.
He spent the remaining years of his life writing sacred music as well as delectable miniatures for both
piano and voice (some of which he called "sins of my old age"). He was revered from the time he was a
teenager until his death. Rossini was buried in Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery in proximity to the graves
of Vincenzo Bellini, Luigi Cherubini, and Frédéric Chopin. In 1887, Rossini's grave was transferred from
Paris to Santa Croce, in Florence, in a ceremony attended by more than 6,000 admirers.
Rossini's chief legacy remains his extraordinary contribution to the operatic repertoire. His comedic
masterpieces, including L'Italiana in Algeri, La gazza ladra, and perhaps his most famous work, Il barbiere
di Siviglia, are regarded as cornerstones of the genre along with works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
and Giuseppe Verdi.
Please request the FLAC link in this thread. No PM's. These are my own rips!
Complete artwork, booklet, log and cue files included. Limited sharing period.
Music Composed by
Gioachino Rossini
Played by the
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Conducted by
Sir Neville Marriner
CD 1
1. Overture to Guillaume Tell (William Tell)
2. Overture to Le siège de Corinthe
3. La cenerentola (Cinderella), overture
4. Overture to La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie)
5. Overture to La cambiale di matrimonio
6. Overture to La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder)
7. Tancredi, overture
8. Overture to Il signor Bruschino
9. Il turco in Italia (The Turk in Italy), overture
10. Overture to L'inganno Felice
CD 2
1. Maometto II, opera Overture
2. Ouverture to Ricciardo e Zoraide
3. Overture al conventello, for orchestra in D major
4. Sinfonia (Overture) in D major (di Bologna), QR vii / 1
5. Overture to Semiramide
6. Il viaggio a Reims, opera Overture
7. Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
8. Overture to L'italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers)
CD 3
1. Bianca e Falliero, opera Overture
2. Otello, opera Overture
3. Demetrio e Polibio, opera Overture
4. Edoardo e Cristina, opera Overture
5. Armida, opera Overture
6. Edipio a Colono, incidental music for bass, chorus & orchestra Overture
7. Ermione, opera Overture
8. Torvaldo e Dorliska
Philips 434 016-2
Recorded: 1974-1979 - This release: 1992
Source: Philips CDs (My rip!)
Format: FLAC(RAR), ADD Stereo, Level: -5
File Size: 930 MB (incl. artwork & booklet)
Please request the FLAC link in this thread. No PM's. These are my own rips!
Complete artwork, booklet, log and cue files included. Limited sharing period.
Enjoy! Don't share! Buy the original! :)