One of opera's most intriguing figures, Gioachino Rossini, was born in Pesaro, Italy, on February 29, 1792. His father, the town trumpeter, and his mother, a singer, encouraged their son's musical talents; from an early age, Gioachino was an accomplished performer on the harpsichord, violin, and piano, as well as a boy soprano in the opera. He began his composing career with Demetrio e Polibio, which was first staged in 1812.

Rossini's first professional work was La Cambiale di Matrimonio "The Marriage Contract", a one-act opera buffa (comic opera) produced in Venice in 1810. During the next four years, Rossini composed several operas that were performed in Venice and Milan, and he began to earn a reputation as an inspired melodist. Of his works from this period only three are noteworthy: "Tancredi", an opera seria (a formalized genre of serious opera), which established Rossini's fame outside of Italy; L'Italiana in Algeri "The Italian Girl in Algiers", a sparkling comedy still frequently performed; and Il Turco in Italia "The Turk in Italy", an 1814 comedy.

Rossini next became music director of both opera houses in Naples. He wrote Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra "Elizabeth Queen of England" in 1815 for Isabella Colbran, a soprano he had met while a student in Bologna. Isabella went on to create the leading roles in several Rossini operas; in 1824, she became Rossini's wife. Elisabetta marks the first time that Rossini's recitatives - the half-spoken, half-sung expository section of the opera - were accompanied by the strings and not simply the harpsichord. In Rossini's Neapolitan operas, the composer's intentions came to be far more respected than in the past. The bel canto (beautiful singing) period in which he wrote was a time when singers improvised elaborate embellishments to display their technical virtuosity, often ornamenting the arias beyond recognition. By writing out the vocal decorations himself and insisting that the singers adhere to them, Rossini helped to contribute to the rise of the composer as the dominant musical personality. But even he could not completely curb his artists. The renowned soprano, Adelina Patti, once performed an aria from Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" for the composer. "And how did you like the aria, maestro?" she asked. "A charming tune", replied Rossini dryly. "I wonder who wrote it?"

One of the commissions Rossini accepted during his tenure in Naples was for an opera entitled "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" (The Barber of Seville). Following the success of Il Barbiere, Rossini continued to compose prolifically:

• "Otello" (1816) contains some of his most beautiful music;
• "La Cenerentola" (1817), second only to Il Barbiere in popularity, is a hilarious Cinderella story;
• "La Gazza Ladra" (The Thieving Magpie, 1817) is best remembered for its sparkling overture;
• "Mose in Egitto" (Moses in Egypt, 1818) is described as "a tragic sacred drama";
• "La Donna del Lago" (The Lady of the Lake, 1819) has as its source a poem by Sir Walter Scott;
• "Semiramide" (1823) is a huge-scale opera with much coloratura writing.

Rossini traveled extensively throughout Europe. Settling in Paris, he was appointed director of the Theatre Italien, as well as Composer to the King and Inspector General of Singing. The Paris Opera produced a number of his works, including Le Siege de Corinthe "The Siege of Corinth" (1826), a monumental spectacle, and his final opera, the magnificent Guillaume Tell "William Tell", in 1829. Guillaume Tell - whose spirited overture is familiar worldwide - is a seminal work in the history of French grand opera. In 1829, at the age of thirty-seven and at the height of his popularity, Rossini retired from composing. The only works he produced thereafter were for his own enjoyment, including two religious pieces, the "Stabat Mater" (1842) and the "Petite Messe Solonnelle" (1864).

A wealthy man, Rossini had no need to continue accepting commissions, and a life of self-indulgent leisure had always greatly appealed to him. Furthermore, he took a dim view of the new directions in which singing - and music in general - were heading; he felt that his style of opera belonged to a past generation. For his remaining thirty-nine years, Rossini lived a life of indolence and pleasure. A celebrated gourmet and "bon vivant," he turned his home in Paris into one of the most glittering salons in all of Europe. He died on February 13, 1868, still so prominent and respected that his death engendered numerous moving tributes.

Theatre in Rome: classics and opera in Roma

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The Barber of Seville – An introduction to the opera by Rossini.

With its tuneful score and mercurial story, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) is the most popular comic opera in the world. Gioachino Rossini composed Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Via dei Leutari, in the building opposite the apartments of Palazzo Olivia, where he stayed in 1816.

Rossini was notoriously lazy. He delayed completing his commissions until the last possible moment, and often "borrowed" music from his other operas to spare himself the labor of writing new material. The famous overture from Il Barbiere di Siviglia, for instance, had been previously attached to three different operas. Rossini also worked fast; Il Barbiere was dashed off in an incredible thirteen days. Really impressive, if we consider that a good copyist in Rossini's times took just twenty days to make a copy of the same amount of pages contained in Rossini's manuscript... In all, his gift for melodic invention allowed him to produce an astounding thirty-nine operas in nineteen years.

On the first performance at Teatro Argentina in Rome, Il Barbiere was a great fiasco. Some time later it was discovered that many spectators were corrupted by Paisiello, who had understood that this new Barbiere would have canceled his old one from the theaters. That night many curious things happened: the strings of the onstage guitar broke. Don Basilio, interpreted by the bass Vitarelli, coming on the stage stumbled and fell on his face. While singing "la calunnia" his nose was still bleeding, and he had to tampon his nose after every phrase. A cat living near Teatro Argentina slipped on the stage and started meowing and rubbing on the singers' legs, while the audience laughed crazily!

At the end of the performance, a furious Rossini eluded the laughing audience, and walked back, all alone, to Via dei Leutari. But at the second performance there was a well-deserved triumph. As a curiosity, Rosina's Aria during the music lesson was quite always chosen by the soprano, even because this choice does not interfere with the plot. Even nowadays some famous singers use to follow this tradition: well-known is the use of the "Cavatina" from Rossini's Tancredi, by the great soprano Marilyn Horne.

Theatre in Rome: classics and opera in Roma

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The Barber of Seville – Act One.

The first act of the opera by Gioachino Rossini sees a whole chain of events: the Count of Almaviva asks for the help of Figaro, the Barber of Seville, to meet his beloved Rosina, but is thwarted by Don Bartolo who wants to marry her.

The action takes place in Seville. Count Almaviva (tenor) is in love with Rosina (contralto or soprano), the ward of Don Bartolo (buffo bass) who is always kept under strict supervision. In order to get close to Rosina, the Count calls on Figaro (baritone), a local barber, who gives Almaviva the idea of gaining entry to Bartolo's house disguised as a soldier in need of lodgings.

But Don Bartolo, who secretly hopes for the hand but most of all for the rich dowry of Rosina has heard from Don Basilio (bass), an impoverished music teacher, that the Count has arrived in Seville. When Almaviva turns up disguised as a soldier on his doorstep, Bartolo reveals his suspicions at once.

Meanwhile the Count, on a pretext, has succeeded in speaking, if only fleetingly, to Rosina. To conceal his noble rank, he tells her his name is Lindoro. After a series of amusing situations, which end in pandemonium, the police arrive, and this puts a stop to Almaviva's bid.

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In the second act of the opera Don Bartolo tries to slander his rival. Figaro hatches a plan so that the Count of Almaviva can meet Rosina and elope. The plan fails, but the two manage anyhow, with the help of Figaro, to marry.

Being the shrewd man he is, Figaro immediately comes up with another stylish plan for approaching Rosina. The Count will gain entry to Don Bartolo's house that very evening, this time dressed as a music teacher, deputizing for Don Basilio who, he will explain, is indisposed.

The ploy appears to have worked, but Don Basilio's arrival, together with an indiscreet reference which the Count happens to let slip, lead once again to the deception being uncovered, and Don Bartolo, in a rage, turns everyone out of the house. Almaviva and Figaro, however. are undaunted: during a storm, they use 3 staircase to gain access to Don Bartolo's house and carry Rosina off. The young woman has, in the meantime, been duped by her guardian into thinking that Lindoro is a go-between for Count Almaviva. As a result, Rosina refuses to follow the Count, but the misunderstanding is cleared up immediately, and a happy ending is in sight.

When the notary arrives, having been summoned by Don Bartolo to perform a hurried weddingfor himself and Rosina, he is prevailed upon by Figaro to marry Rosina to Almaviva instead. Don Bartolo can only put on a brave face at the outcome, and console himself with the thought that he need not provide Rosina with a dowry.

Theatre in Rome: classics and opera in Roma

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Rome’s Teatro Argentina.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia was first staged in 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, 5 min walk from the apartments of Palazzo Olivia. The theater was inaugurated on January 31, 1732, with the performance of the opera "Berenice" composed by Domenico Sarro. It was completely made of wood, with the only exception of exterior walls and stairs, made of stone.

To ensure the best visibility and acoustics, the auditorium got the shape of a horseshoe bat. The wood-floored stalls area had 40 rows, laid down to fit the auditorium shape. There were 186 boxes, in 6 rows each with 31 boxes. As confirmed by descriptions of 18th-c. foreign visitors, the Teatro Argentina was considered as the most important theater in Rome. After the inauguration, it staged prose dramas and musical intermezzos.

Important restoration works were done in 1742. The building had no facade till 1826 when P. Holl built it, after the Duke Salvatore Sforza Cesarini bestowed the theater to Pietro Cartoni, who performed "Several restorations and added a facade, a hallway and a further hall". From 1919 to 1944, the most important Italian theatrical companies (E. Grammatica, Niccodemi, A. Ninchi, Zacconi, De Filippo, Palmer-Randone, etc.) performed here works by Pirandello, D'Annunzio, Ibsen, Gorkij, De Filippo.

In Winter 1944-45, popular operas were performed for American and British troops. In the 1960s, the Teatro Argentina was widely restored to become, in 1971, the main seat of Teatro di Roma, whose direction was managed in turns by major personalities like Franco Enriquez, Luigi Squarzina, Maurizio Scaparro, Pietro Carriglio, Luca Ronconi, and Mario Martone (current director).

[Text taken from the web site: Teatro di Roma]

Theatre in Rome: classics and opera in Roma

The "Theatre in Rome" site has a list of the main classical music and opera performances in Rome. You can buy tickets on-line and find useful information on the capital’s theatres.

Visit the Teatro di Roma site...

Rome’s Auditorium: music, concerts and events

Auditorium presents symphony orchestra and chamber music and also has a varied programme of jazz, pop, rock, world music, cinema openings, plays, art exhibitions and literary performances.

Visit the Auditorium di Roma site...