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{rohs-see'-nee}
Gioacchino Rossini, b. Feb. 29, 1792, d. Nov. 13, 1868, was
one of the most significant and influential composers of opera
in the 19th century. His parents were both musical and intermittently
pursued careers as professional musicians. His mother sang
opera in Ferrara, Bologna, and Trieste; his father was a town
trumpeter in Pesaro and played the horn in various operatic
orchestras.
After receiving some harpsichord lessons Rossini was instructed
in voice and harmony, and by the age of ten he was already
accomplished enough as a singer and accompanist to begin earning
money in churches and theaters. In 1806 he entered the Liceo
Musicale of Bologna, where he studied music theory and the
cello. Four years later he left the Liceo to pursue his career
as a composer of operas.
Rossini's first opera to be performed publicly, the one-act
comedy La Cambiale di matrimonio (The Bill of Marriage), was
given in Venice in 1810. Between 1811 and 1814, 12 new operas
by Rossini were produced in Venice, Milan, Rome, and Bologna.
The most popular of these were La Pietra del paragone (The
Touchstone; Milan, 1812), Tancredi (Venice, 1813), and L'Italiana
in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers; Venice, 1813), works
that established Rossini's fame not only in Italy but throughout
Europe.
In 1815, Rossini became musical director of the Teatro San
Carlo and Teatro del Fondo in Naples. The following year he
composed his best-known opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (THE
BARBER OF SEVILLE, Rome; see BARBER OF SEVILLE, THE). Other
significant operas followed in the next few years: Otello
(Naples, 1816), La Cenerentola (Cinderella; Rome, 1817), La
Gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie; Milan, 1817), and La Donna
del lago (The Lady of the Lake; Naples, 1819). The last opera
he composed for Italy was Semiramide (Venice, 1823).
In 1824, Rossini assumed the directorship of the Theatre Italien
in Paris. His first two operas to French texts, Le Siege de
Corinthe (The Siege of Corinth; 1826) and Moise (Moses; 1827),
were revisions of earlier Italian works. He went on to produce
a sparkling opera comique, Le Comte Ory (Count Ory, 1828),
and the grand opera Guillaume Tell (William Tell, 1829), a
landmark in the history of romantic opera.
Guillaume Tell, the composer's 39th opera, was also his last,
although he lived for another 39 years. He produced two significant
religious works, the Stabat Mater (1842) and the Petite Messe
solennelle (Short Solemn Mass, 1864), and numerous piano pieces
and songs grouped under the title Peches de vieillesse (Sins
of Old Age), but no further stage works. From 1837 to 1855
he lived in Italy, then moved to Paris, where he spent the
remainder of his life.
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