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Biography. Works by Gioacchino Rossini Three Italian cities, the most significant for the composer




Date of death:

Portrait of Rossini

Gioachino Rossini

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini(Italian Gioachino Antonio Rossini; February 29, Pesaro, Italy - November 13, Ryuelli, France) - Italian composer, author of 39 operas, sacred and chamber music.

Biography

Rossini's father was a horn player, his mother was a singer; the boy grew up from childhood in a musical environment and, as soon as his musical talent was discovered, he was sent to develop his voice to Angelo Tesei in Bologna. In 1807, Rossini entered the Liceo filarmonico in Bologna as a student of composition at the Liceo filarmonico in Bologna, but interrupted his studies as soon as he took a course in simple counterpoint, since, according to Mattei, the knowledge of the latter was quite enough to be able to write operas.

Rossini's first experience was a 1-act opera: "La cambiale di matrimonio" ("The marriage bill") (1810 at the San Mose theater in Venice), which attracted little attention, as well as the second: "L" equivoco stravagante "( “A Strange Case”) (Bologna 1811); however, they liked them so much that Rossini was overwhelmed with work, and by 1812 he had already written 5 operas. The following year, after his Tancred was staged on the stage of the Fenice Theater in Venice, the Italians had already decided that Rossini was Italy's greatest living operatic composer, a view reinforced by the opera The Italiane in Algiers.

But the greatest triumph was brought to Rossini in 1816 by the production on the stage of the Argentina Theater in Rome of his The Barber of Seville; In Rome, The Barber of Seville was met with great distrust, as they considered it impudent that anyone should dare to write, after Paisiello, an opera on the same subject; at the first performance, Rossini's opera was received even coldly; the second performance, which the frustrated Rossini himself did not conduct, on the contrary, was an intoxicating success: the audience even staged a torchlight procession.

In the same year, Othello followed in Naples, in which Rossini completely banished recitativo secco for the first time, then Cinderella in Rome and The Thieving Magpie in 1817 in Milan. In 1815-23, Rossini signed a contract with the theatrical entrepreneur Barbaia, according to which, for an annual fee of 12,000 lire (4,450 rubles), he was obliged to supply 2 new operas every year; Barbaia was at that time in the hands of not only the Neapolitan theaters, but also the Scala Theater in Milan and the Italian Opera in Vienna.

In the year the composer's first wife dies. In Rossini he marries Olympia Pelissier. In the city he settled again in Paris, making his home one of the most fashionable music salons.

Rossini died on November 13, 1868 in the town of Passy near Paris. In 1887, the ashes of the composer were transferred to Florence.

The name of Rossini is the conservatory in his hometown, created according to his will.

operas

  • "Marriage bill" (La Cambiale di Matrimonio) - 1810
  • "Strange Case" (L'equivoco stravagante) - 1811
  • "Demetrius and Polybius" (Demetrio e Polibio) - 1812
  • "Happy Deception" (L'inganno felice) - 1812
  • "Ciro in Babylon, or the Fall of Belshazzar" (Ciro in Babilonia (La caduta di Baldassare)) - 1812
  • The Silk Staircase (La scala di seta) - 1812
  • "The touchstone" (La pietra del paragone) - 1812
  • "Chance makes a thief" (L'occasione fa il ladro (Il cambio della valigia)) - 1812
  • "Signor Bruschino" (Il Signor Bruschino (or Il figlio per azzardo)) - 1813
  • " Tancredi"(Tancredi) - 1813
  • "Italian in Algiers" (L'Italiana in Algeri) - 1813
  • "Aureliano in Palmira" (Aureliano in Palmira) - 1813
  • "Turk in Italy" (Il Turco in Italia) - 1814
  • "Sigismund" (Sigismondo) - 1814
  • "Elizabeth of England" (Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra) - 1815
  • "Torvald and Dorliska" (Torvaldo e Dorliska) - 1815
  • "Almaviva, or the Vain Precaution" (The Barber of Seville) (Almaviva (ossia L'inutile precauzione (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)) - 1816
  • "Newspaper" (La gazzetta (Il matrimonio per concorso)) - 1816
  • "Othello, or the Venetian Moor" (Otello o Il moro di Venezia) - 1816
  • "Cinderella, or the Triumph of Virtue" (La Cenerentola o sia La bontà in trionfo) - 1817
  • "The Thieving Magpie" (La gazza ladra) - 1817
  • "Armida" (Armida) - 1817
  • "Adelaide of Burgundy, or Otto, King of Italy" (Adelaide di Borgogna or Ottone, re d'Italia) - 1817
  • "Moses in Egypt" (Mosè in Egitto) - 1818
  • "Adina, or Caliph of Baghdad" (Adina or Il califfo di Bagdad) - 1818
  • "Ricciardo and Zoraide" (Ricciardo e Zoraide) - 1818
  • "Hermione" (Ermione) - 1819
  • "Eduard and Christina" (Eduardo e Cristina) - 1819
  • The Lady of the Lake (La donna del lago) - 1819
  • "Bianca and Faliero" ("Council of Three") (Bianca e Falliero (Il consiglio dei tre)) - 1819
  • "Mohammed II" (Maometto secondo) - 1820
  • "Matilde di Shabran, or Beauty and the Iron Heart" (Matilde di Shabran, or Bellezza e Cuor di Ferro) - 1821
  • "Zelmira" (Zelmira) - 1822
  • "Semiramide" (Semiramide) - 1823
  • "Journey to Reims, or the Golden Lily Hotel" (Il viaggio a Reims (L'albergo del giglio d'oro)) - 1825
  • "The Siege of Corinth" (Le Siège de Corinthe) - 1826
  • "Moses and Pharaoh, or Passage through the Red Sea" (Moïse et Pharaon (Le passage de la Mer Rouge) - 1827 (reworking of "Moses in Egypt")
  • "Count Ory" (Le Comte Ory) - 1828
  • "William Tell" (Guillaume Tell) - 1829

Other musical works

  • Il pianto d'armonia per la morte d'Orfeo
  • Petite Messe Solennelle
  • Stabat mater
  • Cats Duet (attr.)
  • bassoon concerto
  • Messa di Gloria

Notes

Links

  • Brief summaries (synopses) of Rossini's operas on the site "100 operas"
  • Gioachino Antonio Rossini: Sheet Music at the International Music Score Library Project

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See what "Rossini" is in other dictionaries:

    - (Gioachino Rossini) the famous Italian composer (1792 1868), who made up an era in the history of the development of Italian opera, although many of his operas are now forgotten. In his youth, R. studied at the Bologna Conservatory with Stanislav Mattei and already ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

    Gioachino Antonio Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini Composer Date of birth: February 29, 1792 ... Wikipedia

    - (Rossini) Gioachino Antonio (29 II 1792, Pesaro 13 XI 1868, Passy, ​​near Paris) Italian. composer. His father, a man of advanced, republican convictions, was a musician of the mountains. spirit. orchestra, mother a singer. Learned to play on the back ... ... Music Encyclopedia

    - (Rossini) Gioacchino Antonio, Italian composer. Born into a family of musicians (father is a trumpeter and horn player, mother is a singer). From childhood, he studied singing, ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

    - (Gioachino Rossini) the famous Italian composer (1792 1868), who made up an era in the history of the development of Italian opera, although many of his operas are now forgotten. In his youth, R. studied at the Bologna Conservatory with Stanislav Mattei and ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

    ROSSINI- (Gioacchino Antonio R. (1792 1868) Italian composer; see also PEZARSKY) Now I drink the foamy Rossini In a new way again And I see only through love, That the skies are so childishly blue. Kuz915 (192) … Proper name in Russian poetry of the XX century: a dictionary of personal names

The famous Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 in the small town of Pesaro, located on the coast of the Gulf of Venice.

Since childhood, he has been involved in music. His father, Giuseppe Rossini, nicknamed Veselchak for his playful disposition, was a city trumpeter, and his mother, a woman of rare beauty, had a beautiful voice. There were always songs and music in the house.

Being a supporter of the French Revolution, Giuseppe Rossini joyfully welcomed the entry of revolutionary units into Italy in 1796. The restoration of the power of the Pope was marked by the arrest of the head of the Rossini family.

Having lost his job, Giuseppe and his wife were forced to become itinerant musicians. Rossini's father was a horn player in orchestras that performed in fair performances, and his mother performed opera arias. The beautiful soprano Gioacchino, who sang in church choirs, also brought income to the family. The boy's voice was highly appreciated by the choirmasters of Lugo and Bologna. In the last of these cities, famous for its musical traditions, the Rossini family found shelter.

In 1804, at the age of 12, Gioacchino began to study music professionally. His teacher was the church composer Angelo Tesei, under whose guidance the boy quickly mastered the rules of counterpoint, as well as the art of accompaniment and singing. A year later, young Rossini set off on a journey through the cities of Romagna as a bandmaster.

Realizing the incompleteness of his musical education, Gioacchino decided to continue it at the Bologna Music Lyceum, where he was enrolled as a cello student. Classes in counterpoint and composition were supplemented by independent study of scores and manuscripts from the rich Lyceum library.

Passion for the work of such famous musical figures as Cimarosa, Haydn and Mozart, had a special influence on the development of Rossini as a musician and composer. While still a student of the Lyceum, he became a member of the Bologna Academy, and after graduation, in recognition of his talent, he received an invitation to conduct a performance of Haydn's oratorio The Four Seasons.

Gioacchino Rossini early discovered an amazing capacity for work, he quickly coped with any creative task, showing the wonders of amazing compositional technique. During the years of his studies, he wrote a large number of musical works, including sacred works, symphonies, instrumental music and vocal works, as well as excerpts from the opera Demetrio and Polibio, Rossini's first work in this genre.

The year of graduating from the Lyceum was marked by the beginning of Rossini's simultaneous activities as a singer, bandmaster and opera composer.

The period from 1810 to 1815 was marked in the life of the famous composer as "wandering", at this time Rossini wandered from one city to another, not staying anywhere for more than two or three months.

The fact is that in Italy of the 18th - 19th centuries, permanent opera houses existed only in large cities - such as Milan, Venice and Naples, small settlements had to be content with the art of itinerant theater troupes, usually consisting of a prima donna, tenor, bass and several singers. in secondary roles. The orchestra was recruited from local music lovers, military and traveling musicians.

The maestro (composer), hired by the troupe's impresario, wrote music to the provided libretto, and the performance was staged, while the maestro had to conduct the opera himself. With a successful production, the work was performed for 20-30 days, after which the troupe disintegrated, and the artists scattered around the cities.

For five long years, Gioacchino Rossini wrote operas for traveling theaters and artists. Close cooperation with the performers contributed to the development of great composer flexibility, it was necessary to take into account the vocal abilities of each singer, the tessitura and timbre of his voice, artistic temperament and much more.

The delight of the public and penny fees - that's what Rossini received as a reward for his composing work. In his early works, some haste and carelessness were noted, which caused severe criticism. Thus, the composer Paisiello, who saw a formidable rival in Gioacchino Rossini, spoke of him as "a dissolute composer, little versed in the rules of art and devoid of good taste."

Criticism did not bother the young composer, since he was well aware of the shortcomings of his works, in some scores he even noted the so-called grammatical errors with the words "to satisfy the pedants".

In the first years of independent creative activity, Rossini worked on writing mainly comic operas, which had strong roots in the musical culture of Italy. In his later work, the genre of serious opera occupied an important place.

Unprecedented success came to Rossini in 1813, after the performances in Venice of the works "Tankred" (opera seria) and "Italian in Algiers" (opera buffa). The doors of the best theaters in Milan, Venice and Rome opened before him, arias from his compositions were sung in carnivals, city squares and streets.

Gioacchino Rossini became one of the most popular composers in Italy. Memorable melodies, filled with uncontrollable temperament, fun, heroic pathos and love lyrics, made an unforgettable impression on the entire Italian society, whether it be aristocratic circles or a society of artisans.

The composer's patriotic ideas, sounding in many of his works of a later period, also found a response. So, in the typical buffoonish plot of "Italian in Algeria" with fights, scenes with disguises and lovers who get into a mess, patriotic themes are unexpectedly wedged.

The main heroine of the opera, Isabella, addresses her beloved Lindor, who is languishing in captivity at the Algerian Bey Mustafa, with the words: “Think about your homeland, be fearless and do your duty. Look: throughout Italy, sublime examples of valor and dignity are being revived. This aria reflects the patriotic feelings of the era.

In 1815, Rossini moved to Naples, where he was offered a position as a composer at the San Carlo Opera House, which promised a number of profitable prospects, such as high fees and work with famous performers. Moving to Naples was marked for the young Gioacchino by the end of the period of "vagrancy".

From 1815 to 1822, Rossini worked in one of the best theaters in Italy, at the same time he traveled around the country and completed orders for other cities. On the stage of the Neapolitan theater, the young composer made his debut with the opera seria "Elizabeth, Queen of England", which was a new word in traditional Italian opera.

Since ancient times, the aria as a form of solo singing has been the musical core of such works, the composer was faced with the task of outlining only the musical lines of the opera and highlighting the main melodic contour in the vocal parts.

The success of the work in this case depended only on the improvisational talent and taste of the virtuoso performer. Rossini departed from a long tradition: violating the rights of the singer, he wrote out in the score all the coloratura, virtuoso passages and decorations of the aria. Soon this innovation entered the work of other Italian composers.

The Neapolitan period contributed to the improvement of Rossini's musical genius and the composer's transition from the light comedy genre to more serious music.

The situation of the growing social upsurge, which was resolved by the uprising of the Carbonari in 1820-1821, required more significant and heroic images than the frivolous characters of comedic works. Thus, in the opera seria there were more opportunities to express new trends that Gioacchino Rossini was sensitive to.

For a number of years, the main object of the outstanding composer's work was a serious opera. Rossini strove to change the musical and plot standards of the traditional seria opera, which had already been defined at the beginning of the 18th century. He tried to bring significant content and drama into this style, to expand connections with real life and the ideas of his time, in addition, the composer gave a serious opera the activity and dynamics borrowed from the buffa opera.

The time of work in the Neapolitan theater turned out to be very significant in terms of its achievements and results. During this period, such works were written as Tancred, Othello (1816), which reflected Rossini's tendency to high drama, as well as monumental heroic works Moses in Egypt (1818) and Mohammed II (1820) .

Romantic tendencies developing in Italian music demanded new artistic images and means of musical expression. Rossini's opera The Woman from the Lake (1819) reflects such features of the romantic style in music as picturesque descriptions and the transfer of lyrical experiences.

The best works of Gioacchino Rossini are rightfully considered The Barber of Seville, created in 1816 for staging in Rome during the carnival holidays and the result of the composer's many years of work on a comic opera, and the heroic-romantic work William Tell.

The Barber of Seville retained all the most viable and bright of the buffa opera: the democratic traditions of the genre and national elements were enriched in this work, permeated through and through with clever, biting irony, sincere fun and optimism, and a realistic depiction of the surrounding reality.

The first production of The Barber of Seville, written in just 19 or 20 days, was unsuccessful, but already at the second show the audience enthusiastically welcomed the famous composer, there was even a torchlight procession in honor of Rossini.

The opera libretto, consisting of two acts and four scenes, is based on the plot of the work of the same name by the famous French playwright Beaumarchais. The scene of the events unfolding on the stage is the Spanish Seville, the main characters are Count Almaviva, his beloved Rosina, the barber, physician and musician Figaro, Dr. Bartolo, Rosina's guardian and the monk Don Basilio, Bartolo's secret attorney.

In the first picture of the first act, Count Almaviva, in love, wanders near the house of Dr. Bartolo, where his beloved lives. His lyrical aria is heard by Rosina's cunning guardian, who himself has views of his ward. Figaro, the master of all sorts, comes to the aid of the lovers, inspired by the count's promises.

The action of the second picture takes place in the house of Bartolo, in the room of Rosina, who dreams of sending a letter to her admirer Lindor (Count Almaviva is hidden under this name). At this time, Figaro appears and offers his services, but the unexpected arrival of a guardian forces him to hide. Figaro learns about the insidious plans of Bartolo and Don Basilio and hurries to warn Rosina about this.

Soon Almaviva bursts into the house under the guise of a drunken soldier, Bartolo tries to put him out the door. In this turmoil, the count manages to quietly pass a note to his beloved and inform that Lindor is he. Figaro is also here, together with Bartolo's servants, he is trying to separate the owner of the house and Almaviva.

Everyone falls silent only with the arrival of a team of soldiers. The officer gives the order to arrest the count, but the paper filed with a majestic gesture instantly changes his behavior. The representative of the authorities bows respectfully to the disguised Almaviva, causing bewilderment among all those present.

The second action takes place in Bartolo's room, where the amorous count, disguised as a monk, arrives, posing as Don Alonzo's singing teacher. To gain Dr. Bartolo's trust, Almaviva gives him Rosina's note. The girl, recognizing her Lindor in the monk, willingly starts her studies, but the presence of Bartolo interferes with the lovers.

At this time, Figaro arrives and offers the old man a shave. By cunning, the barber manages to get hold of the key to Rosina's balcony. The arrival of Don Basilio threatens to ruin the well-played performance, but he is “removed” from the stage just in time. The lesson resumes, Figaro continues the shaving procedure, trying to block the lovers from Bartolo, but the deception is revealed. Almaviva and the barber are forced to flee.

Bartolo, using a note from Rosina, carelessly given to him by the count, persuades the disappointed girl to sign the marriage contract. Rosina reveals to her guardian the secret of the impending escape, and he goes to fetch the guards.

At this time, Almaviva and Figaro enter the girl's room. The count asks Rosina to become his wife and receives consent. The lovers want to leave the house as soon as possible, but an unexpected obstacle arises in the form of the lack of stairs near the balcony and the arrival of Don Basilio with a notary.

The appearance of Figaro, who announced Rosina as his niece and Count Almaviva as her fiancé, saves the day. Dr. Bartolo, who came with the guards, finds the marriage of the ward already accomplished. In impotent rage, he attacks the "traitor" Basilio and the "scoundrel" Figaro, but Almaviva's generosity bribes him, and he joins the general welcoming chorus.

The libretto of The Barber of Seville differs significantly from the original source: here the social sharpness and satirical orientation of Beaumarchais's comedy turned out to be greatly softened. For Rossini, Count Almaviva is a lyrical character, not an empty rake-aristocrat. His sincere feelings and desire for happiness triumph over the mercenary plans of Bartolo's guardian.

Figaro appears as a cheerful, dexterous and enterprising person, in whose party there is not even a hint of moralizing and philosophizing. Figaro's life credo is laughter and jokes. These two characters are contrasted with negative characters - the stingy old man Bartolo and the hypocritical hypocrite Don Basilio.

Cheerful, sincere, contagious laughter is the main tool of Gioacchino Rossini, who in his musical comedies and farces relies on the traditional images of the buffa opera - the amorous guardian, the dexterous servant, the pretty pupil and the cunning rogue monk.

Reviving these masks with features of realism, the composer gives them the appearance of people, as if snatched from reality. It happened that the action depicted on the stage or the character was associated by the public with a certain event, incident or a specific person.

Thus, The Barber of Seville is a realistic comedy, the realism of which is manifested not only in the plot and dramatic situations, but also in generalized human characters, in the composer's ability to typify the phenomena of contemporary life.

The overture that precedes the events of the opera sets the tone for the entire work. She plunges into the atmosphere of fun and easy jokes. In the future, the mood created by the overture is concretized in a certain fragment of the comedy.

Despite the fact that this musical introduction was repeatedly used by Rossini in other works, it is perceived as an integral part of the Barber of Seville. Each theme of the overture is based on a new melodic basis, and the connecting parts create a continuity of transitions and give the overture an organic integrity.

The fascination of the operatic action of The Barber of Seville depends on the variety of compositional techniques used by Rossini: introduction, the effect of which is the result of a combination of stage and musical action; alternation of recitatives and dialogues with solo arias characterizing this or that character, and duets; ensemble scenes with a through line of development, designed to mix the various threads of the plot and maintain intense interest in the further development of events; orchestral parts that support the rapid pace of the opera.

The source of the melody and rhythm of "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini is bright temperamental Italian music. In the score of this work, everyday song and dance turns and rhythms are heard, which form the basis of this musical comedy.

Created after The Barber of Seville, the works Cinderella and Magpie the Thief are far from the usual comedy genre. The composer pays more attention to lyrical characteristics and dramatic situations. However, with all the striving for a new Rossini, he could not finally overcome the conventions of a serious opera.

In 1822, together with a troupe of Italian artists, the famous composer went on a two-year tour of the capitals of European states. Glory walked ahead of the famous maestro, everywhere he was expected by a luxurious reception, huge fees and the best theaters and performers in the world.

In 1824, Rossini became the head of the Italian opera house in Paris and did much in this post to promote Italian opera music. In addition, the famous maestro patronized young Italian composers and musicians.

During the Parisian period, Rossini wrote a number of works for the French opera, many old works were reworked. So, the opera "Mohammed II" in the French edition was called "The Siege of Coronth" and was a success on the Parisian stage. The composer managed to make his works more realistic and dramatic, to achieve simplicity and naturalness of musical speech.

The influence of the French operatic tradition was manifested in a more rigorous interpretation of the operatic plot, a shift in emphasis from lyrical to heroic scenes, a simplification of the vocal style, giving more importance to crowd scenes, choir and ensemble, as well as an attentive attitude to the opera orchestra.

All the works of the Parisian period were a preparatory step towards the creation of the heroic-romantic opera William Tell, in which the solo arias of traditional Italian operas were replaced by mass choral scenes.

The libretto of this work, which tells about the national liberation war of the Swiss cantons against the Austrians, fully met the patriotic moods of Gioacchino Rossini and the demands of the progressive public on the eve of the revolutionary events of 1830.

The composer worked on "William Tell" for several months. The premiere, which took place in the autumn of 1829, caused rave reviews from the public, but this opera did not receive much recognition and popularity. Outside of France, the production of William Tell was taboo.

Pictures of the folk life and traditions of the Swiss served only as a background for depicting the anger and indignation of the oppressed people, the finale of the work - the uprising of the masses against foreign enslavers - reflected the feelings of the era.

The most famous fragment of the opera "William Tell" was the overture, remarkable for its brilliance and skill - an expression of the multifaceted composition of the entire musical work.

The artistic principles used by Rossini in William Tell found application in the works of many figures of French and Italian opera of the 19th century. And in Switzerland they even wanted to erect a monument to the famous composer, whose work contributed to the intensification of the national liberation struggle of the Swiss people.

The opera "William Tell" was the last work of Gioacchino Rossini, who at the age of 40 suddenly stopped writing opera music and began arranging concerts and performances. In 1836, the celebrated composer returned to Italy, where he lived until the mid-1850s. Rossini provided all possible assistance to the Italian rebels and even wrote the national anthem in 1848.

However, a severe nervous illness forced Rossini to move to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. His house became one of the centers of the artistic life of the French capital; many world-famous Italian and French singers, composers and pianists came here.

Retirement from opera did not weaken the fame of Rossini, which came to him in his youth and did not leave even after his death. Of the works created in the second half of his life, the collections of romances and duets “Musical Evenings”, as well as sacred music “Stabat mater”, deserve special attention.

Gioacchino Rossini died in Paris in 1868 at the age of 76. A few years later, his ashes were sent to Florence and buried in the pantheon of the Church of Santa Croce, a kind of tomb of the best representatives of Italian culture.



Rossini D. A.

(Rossini) Gioacchino Antonio (29 II 1792, Pesaro - 13 XI 1868, Passy, ​​near Paris) - Italian. composer. His father, a man of advanced, republican convictions, was a musician of the mountains. spirit. orchestra, mother - a singer. He studied spinet playing initially with J. Prinetti, later (in Luga) with J. Malerby. Possessing an excellent voice and outstanding muses. abilities, R. from childhood sang in the church. choirs. OK. 1804 the R. family settled in Bologna. R. studied with A. Tezei (singing, playing the cembalo, musical theory), later with M. Babini (singing); also mastered the art of playing the viola and violin. He successfully sang in the churches and churches of Bologna, was a choir conductor and accompanist (accompanied the cembalo) in opera houses, Spanish. viola part in the amateur strings organized by him. quartet. Since 1806 (at the age of 14) member. Bologna Philharmonic. academy. In 1806-10 he studied at the Bologna Museum. lyceum at V. Kavedagni (cello), S. Mattei (counterpoint), as well as in the piano class. Simultaneously wrote a number of works: 2 symphonies, 5 strings. quartets, the cantata "Complaint of Harmony on the death of Orpheus" (written in 1808 under the direction of the author), etc. In 1806 he composed the first opera "Demetrio and Polibio" (post. 1812, Rome) in the traditional opera seria genre. In 1810, his farce "Promissory Note for Marriage" was performed. Already here, a bright and original musical theater appeared. R.'s talent, his melodic. generosity. Mastering the skill, R. wrote several. operas per year (in 1812 - 5 operas, unequal, but testifying to the formation of the author's creative individuality). In comic operas, the composer found original solutions. So, in the farce "Happy Deception" he created a type of opera overture, which became characteristic of most of his operas written for Italy: a contrasting juxtaposition of a melodious, slow introduction and a temperamental, cheerful, impetuous allegro, usually built on cheerful, provocative and lyrical, crafty themes. . Thematic there is no connection between the opera and the overture, but the coloring of the latter corresponds to the general emotional and psychological. the tone of the opera (an example of such an overture is in the farce "The Silk Stairs", 1812). His next buffa opera, The Touchstone (1812, commissioned by comrade La Scala), was distinguished not only by wit and cheerfulness of music, but also by expressiveness and satire. character portrayal accuracy. In the opera series "Tancred" and the opera buffa "Italian in Algiers" (both 1813) reflected patriotic. ideas that inspired the Italian the people in an atmosphere of growing national-liberate. movements of the Carbonari. These operas showed reformist tendencies, although the composer still does not break the boundaries of tradition. genres. In "Tancrede" (based on the historical tragedy of the same name by Voltaire), R. introduced heroic choirs. march character, imbued with the intonations of mass combat songs, developed a drama. recitative scenes, created heroic. arias of a folk-song warehouse (however, according to tradition, the role of the courageous Tancred was intended for a travesty singer). Replete with comedic scenes, the opera-buffa "Italian in Algiers" R. enriched pathetic. and heroic episodes (the aria of the heroine, accompanied by a choir, a militant marching choir of Italians, in which the intonations of the Marseillaise sound, etc.).

Simultaneously R. continued to write traditional. buffa operas (for example, The Turk in Italy, 1814) and seria operas (Aurelian in Palmyra, 1813; Sigismondo, 1814; Elizabeth, Queen of England, 1815, etc.), but also he innovated in them. So, for the first time in the history of the Italian. opera art-va R. wrote out in the score of "Elizabeth" all the virtuoso woks. decorations and passages, which were previously improvised by singers; he introduced strings into the accompaniment of recitatives. instruments of the orchestra, thereby abolishing the secco recitative (that is, against the background of sustained cembalo chords).
In 1815 R., fascinated by the national liberation. ideas, wrote at the request of the patriots of Bologna the "Hymn of Independence" (for the first time in Spanish under his direction). After the participation of R. in the patriotic. australian demonstrations. The police placed him under covert surveillance, which lasted for many years. years.
In 1816, in 19-20 days, R. created his best work, a masterpiece of Italian. buffa operas - "The Barber of Seville" (based on the comedy by Beaumarchais; in order to avoid parallelism with G. Paisiello's opera on the same plot, R.'s opera was called "Almaviva, or Vain Precaution"). Due to lack of time R. used the overture to his opera Aurelian in Palmyra. In "The Barber of Seville" he relied on the music-dramatist. discoveries of W. A. ​​Mozart and the best Italian. buffoon traditions. In this op. united everything innovative and bright, found by R. in his former comic. operas. The characters have received juicy, multifaceted characteristics, the music sensitively follows the unexpected turns of the action. The richness and flexibility of the wok is striking. melodics, sometimes lyrically cantilena, sometimes generalizing intonations of temperamental Italian. speech. Ensembles are numerous and varied - the focus of musical drama. actions. Even in previous Op. R. updated and enriched the art of orchestration. The score of "The Barber of Seville" is evidence of the high achievements of R. in the field of the orchestra: sparkling and melodious, rich in timbre and contrast, loud and transparent. R. brought to perfection the reception of a huge emotional-dynamic technique that he had encountered before. growth, achieved by a gradual increase in the strength of sonority, the connection of new singers. voices and instruments (in particular percussion), general acceleration of the tempo, rhythmic. injection. R. introduced a similar crescendo at the end of certain arias, ensembles, and necessarily at the conclusion of opera finals. "The Barber of Seville" is truly realistic. music comedy with elements of satire. Its heroes are endowed with typical characters snatched from life. The situations, with all the heaps of comedic situations and vivid theatricality, are natural and truthful. At the premiere, due to the intrigues of schemers and envious people, the opera failed, but the very next performance turned out to be a triumph.

G. Rossini. "The Barber of Seville". Cavatina Figaro. Score page. Autograph.
R. looked for new solutions in the opera seria. Appeal to the dramaturgy of W. Shakespeare in the opera "Othello" (1816) meant a break with the legendary and historical. themes typical of the opera seria. In a number of scenes of this opera, R. achieves a dramatic and expressive depiction of situations. New to Italian opera was that the whole orchestra participates in the accompaniment of recitatives (recitative obligato). However, conventions have not yet been completely overcome in Othello, there are miscalculations in the libretto, and there is no music. character sketching.
Having exhausted the possibilities of opera buffa in the Barber of Seville, R. strove for a playwright. and figurative renewal of the genre. He created household music. comedy in lyric. tones, - "Cinderella" (based on the fairy tale by Ch. Perrault, 1817), the semi-serious opera "The Thieving Magpie" (1817), in which genre scenes full of lyrics and gentle humor are compared with pathetic. and tragic. episodes. Fundamentally new is thematic. connection between the overture and the opera. The role of the orchestra has been strengthened, rhythm and harmony have become richer and more diverse.
The most important milestone on the path of perestroika, the Italian. Opera-seria into folk-heroic was the opera "Moses in Egypt" (1818), written in the genre of "tragic-sacred action". The biblical legend, which served as the basis for the libretto, was interpreted by the composer as an allusion to the modern. the position of the Italian people suffering under the yoke of foreign invaders. The opera is sustained in the character of majestic oratorio (widely developed ensemble-choir scenes predominate). The music is heroic. and hymn. intonations and rhythms, severe marching. At the same time, she also has a purely Rossini tenderness and lyricism. With great success, she walked in Italy and abroad. Among the composer's successes is the opera The Lady of the Lake (based on a poem by Walter Scott, 1819), marked by pathos, restrained noble heroism; R. first captured in his music a sense of nature, the chivalrous flavor of the Middle Ages. Mass choir. the scenes became even larger and more significant (in the finale of the 1st act, a sextet of soloists and 3 diverse choirs alternate and unite).
The constant need to write several times. opera scores per year often adversely affected the results of the work. The traditionally solved opera series in historical language turned out to be unsuccessful. plot of "Bianca and Faliero" (1819). Meaning at the same time. an achievement was the opera Mohammed II (based on the tragedy of Voltaire, 1820), intended for the San Carlo in Naples, in which the composer's attraction to the heroic-patriotic was affected. themes, detailed scenes, through music. development, drama. characteristic. The composer also asserted new creative principles in the opera seria Zelmira (1822).
In 1820, during the period of the revolution. uprising in Naples, led by carbonari officers, R. joined the ranks of the nat. guards. In 1822, R., together with the Italian. troupe, which performed his operas with great success, was in Vienna. A deep impression was made on him by the opera "Free Shooter" by Weber, performed under control. author. In Vienna, R. visited L. Beethoven, whose creations he admired. In con. In 1822, in Venice, he completed the score of the "tragic melodrama" "Semiramide" (based on the tragedy of Voltaire, post. 1823). This is the last opera he wrote for Italy. It is distinguished by the integrity of the muses. development, active development of bright relief themes that matter through images, colorful harmony, symphony. and timbre enrichment of the orchestra, organic. the interweaving of numerous choirs to drama action, plastic, expressive recitations. recitatives and wok melodies. parties. With the help of these funds, the composer embodied the ostrich drama. and conflict situations, psychologically intense episodes of music. tragedy. However, some traditions of the old opera seria have been preserved here: solo woks. the parties are excessively virtuoso, the party of the young commander Arzache is entrusted with the contralto. The problem of the Muses has not yet been resolved. character in the opera seria.
For creativity R. typical interpenetration of genres (he did not consider opera seria and opera buffa as something isolated, mutually exclusive). In comic operas meet dramas. and even tragic. situations, in the opera-seria - genre-everyday episodes; lyrical-psychological intensifies. the beginning, the drama is aggravated, the features of the heroic appear. oratorio. R. strove for an operatic reform similar to that carried out in Vienna by Mozart. However, the well-known conservatism of the arts. Italian tastes. the public was hampered by his creativity. evolution.
In 1823 R. with a group of Italian. singers was invited to London for Spanish. his operas. He conducted performances, performed as a singer and composer in concerts. From 1824 he was the head of the "Italien Theatre", from 1826 the king. composer and general inspector of singing in Paris. Revolutionary city. traditions, intellectual and arts. the center of Europe, the center of the leading figures of art and culture - Paris in the 20s. became the most fertile ground for the full realization of R.'s innovative aspirations. R.'s Parisian debut (1825) turned out to be unsuccessful (opera-cantata Journey to Reims, or the Hotel of the Golden Lily, written by order for the coronation of Charles X in Reims). Having studied French operatic art, features of his muses. dramaturgy and style, French. language and its prosody, R. reworked for the Parisian scene one of his heroic-tragic. opera ital. period "Mohammed II" (written in a new libre, which acquired a topical patriotic focus, R. deepened the expressiveness of vocal parts). Premiere of the opera "The Siege of Corinth" (1826, "The King's Academy of Music and Dance") evoked the approval of the audience and the Parisian press. In 1827, R. created the French. ed. opera "Moses in Egypt", which was also met with enthusiasm. In 1828, the opera The Comte Ori appeared (libre by E. Scribe and III. Delestre-Poirson; the best pages of the music of Journey to Reims were used), in which R. proved himself a master in the new genre of French. comic operas.
R. took a lot from the operatic culture of France, but at the same time had an impact on it. In France, R. had not only adherents and admirers, but also opponents (“anti-Rossinists”), however, they also recognized the high skill of Italian. composer. R.'s music influenced the work of A. Boildieu, F. Herold, D. F. Aubert, and also in the definition. measure on J. Meyerbeer.
In 1829, in the setting of societies. rise on the eve of the July Revolution of 1830, the opera William Tell was composed (librated according to an old Swiss legend, which also served as the basis for F. Schiller's tragedy), which became an outstanding result of all the composer's previous searches in the folk-heroic. genre. The overture is interpreted in a new way - a free software symphony. a poem in which lyric-epic, pastoral-picturesque, genre-effective episodes alternate. The opera is full of choirs depicting people who live, rejoice, dream, mourn, resist, fight and win. According to A. N. Serov, R. showed "the ebullition of the masses" (monumental choral scene of the finale of the 2nd act; soloists and 3 choirs participate). In "William Tell" the problem of creating individually delineated muses was solved. characteristics of the characters in the heroic. opera. Each character is endowed with a certain a system of rhythm intonations; Tell is most clearly outlined. R. has achieved the preservation of the individual appearance of each of the participants in numerous. ensembles, growing into large stages, full of continuous music. development and drama. contrasts. Distinguish. features of "William Tell" - the solidity of the acts, the development of musical stage. action with a big stroke. The role of dramatic-expressive recitatives is great, holding the department together. scenes into an indivisible whole. notice. a feature of the timbre-colorful score is a subtle transfer of local color. Opera is characterized by a new type of music. dramaturgy, a new interpretation of heroics. R. created realistic. Nar.-heroic. and patriotic. opera, in which great deeds are performed by ordinary people endowed with living characters, and their muses. the language is based on widespread song and speech intonations. Soon after "William Tell" the glory of the revolution was strengthened. operas. In the monarchy countries, it was censored. For post. I had to change the name, the text (for a long time in Russia, the opera was called "Karl the Bold").
The discreet welcome given to "William Tell" by the bourgeois-aristocratic. the public of Paris, as well as new trends in operatic art (the establishment of a romantic direction, alien to the worldview of R., an adherent of the aesthetics of the Viennese classics), overwork caused by intense creativity - all this prompted the composer to abandon further writing operas. In later years, he created many woks. and fp. miniatures: collections "Musical evenings" (1835), "Sins of old age" (not published); a number of hymns and 2 major wok.-symphon. prod. - Stabat mater (1842) and "Little Solemn Mass" (1863). Despite the orthodox Catholic texts, expressive and emotional music of these Op. perceived as truly secular.
In 1836-65 R. lived in Italy (Bologna, Florence), was engaged in teaching. work, supervised the Bologna muses. lyceum. He spent the last 13 years of his life in Paris, where his house became one of the most popular muses. salons.
Creativity R. had a decisive impact on the subsequent development of Italian. operas (V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, G. Verdi) and a great influence on the evolution of European opera in the 19th century. "Positively, the whole great movement of the musical drama of our time, with all its broad horizons opening before us, is closely connected with the victories of the author of "William Tell"" (A.N. Serov). Inexhaustible melodic. richness, lightness, sparkle, lyric-drama. the expressiveness of the music and the vivid stage presence made R.'s operas popular all over the world.
Key dates of life and activity
1792. - 29 II. In Pesaro in the family of a mountain musician. orchestra (horn player and trumpeter), slaughterhouse inspector Giuseppe R. (born in Lugo) and his wife Anna - singer, daughter of a Pesar baker (nee Gidarini) b. son of Gioacchino.
1800. - Moving with parents to Bologna. - The first lessons of playing the spinet from J. Prinetti. Learning to play the violin.
1801. - Work in the theater. orchestra, where his father was a horn player (performs the violin part).
1802. - Moving with parents to the city of Lugo. - Continued music. classes with Canon J. Malerby, who introduced R. to the work. J. Haydn, W. A. ​​Mozart.
1804-05. - Return to Bologna. Lessons with Padre A. Tezei (singing, playing the cembalo, original musical-theoretical information). op. R. - Performances as a chorister in churches. - Invitation to the t-ry of Bologna and nearby cities to conduct the choir, accompany recitatives on cembalo, Spanish. solo woks. parties.- Classes with tenor M Babini - Creation of R. amateur strings. quartet (performs viola).
1806. - IV. Acceptance of R. in. member Bologna Philharmonic. Academy. - Summer. Admission to the Bologna Muses. lyceum (cello class of V. Kavedagni and piano class).
1807. - Classes in the class of counterpoint with Padre S. Mattei. - Independent. study of scores by D. Cimarosa, Haydn, Mozart.
1808. - 11 VIII. Use under ex. R. his cantata "Complaint of Harmony on the death of Orpheus" in the concert of the Bologna Muses. lyceum.- Use. in a concert of one of the academies of Bologna symphony D-dur P.
1810. - The middle of the year. Termination of classes at the Bologna Museum. lyceum.- 3 XI. Premiere of the farce opera "Promissory Note for Marriage" (the overture was later used by R. in the opera "Adelaide of Burgundy"). - Performance as a conductor in a concert of the Concordi Academy in Bologna (the oratorio "Creation of the World" by Haydn was performed).
1812. - 8 I. Post. opera-farce "Happy Deception" (overture used in the opera "Cyrus in Babylon"). - 26 IX. Fast. opera buffa "The Touchstone" (the overture was used in "Tancred") and other operas.
1813. - Post. a number of operas, including the opera-seria Aurelian in Palmyra.
1815. - April. Use under ex. R. his "Hymn of Independence" in the tre "Kantavali" (Bologna). - Autumn. Invitation of R. impresario D. Barbaei to the post of permanent composer of the San Carlo t-ra in Naples. - Acquaintance with the singer Isabella Colbran. - Presentation of R. to the widow of Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov - E. I. Kutuzov cantata "Aurora" , in which the melody of Rus is used. dance song "Ah, why would the garden fence" (subsequently introduced into the final of the 2nd d. "The Barber of Seville").
1816. - First post. operas R. outside of Italy.
1818. - Honoring R. in Pesaro in connection with the opening of a new opera house and post. "Thieving magpies".
1820. - Revolutionary. uprising in Naples led by Carbonari officers. The adoption of the Constitution, the temporary coming to power of the bourgeois-liberal government - The entry of R. into the ranks of the nat. guards.
1821. - Post. in Rome, the opera "Matilda di Shabran", the first three performances of which were conducted by H. Paganini. - March. The defeat of the Austrian revolutionary army. uprisings in Naples, the restoration of absolutism. - April. Use in Naples, under R. Haydn's oratorio "The Creation of the World".
1822. - Post. in the "San Carlo" (Naples) opera-series "Zelmira" (the last opera written for this t-ra). - Marriage to I. Colbran. - 23 III. Arrival of R. with his wife to Vienna. - 27 III. Presence at the Vienna premiere of the opera "Free Shooter" by Weber. - Attending a concert where Spanish. Beethoven's 3rd ("Heroic") Symphony.- Meeting and conversation of R. with L. Beethoven.- End of July. Return to Bologna. Creation of Sat. wok. exercises. - December. A trip at the invitation of K. Metternich to Verona with the aim of composing and using. 4 cantatas during the festivities that accompanied the congress of the members of the Holy Alliance.
1823. - 3 II. Fast. "Semiramide" - the last opera R., created in Italy. - Autumn. A trip with his wife to Paris, then, at the invitation of the impresario of Covent Garden, to London.
1824. - 26 VII. Departure from London. - August. Occupation of the post of muses. director of the Théâtre Italienne in Paris.
1825. - 19 VI. Fast. the opera-cantata Journey to Reims, commissioned for the coronation of Charles X in Reims.
1826. - The appointment of R. to the post of king. composer and general inspector of singing - 11 VI. Fast. in Lisbon, the farce "Adina, or the Caliph of Baghdad".
1827. - Obtaining an honorary position in the king. retinue, approval by a member of the Council of Management of the king. music schools and a member of the committee of the t-ra "King Academy of Music and Dance".
1829. - 3 VIII. Fast. "William Tell".- Rewarding R. Legion of Honor.- Departure with his wife to Bologna.
1830. - September. Return to Paris.
1831. - Visit to Spain. Receiving an order from the archdeacon of Seville, don M. P. Varela, to write Stabat mater - Return to Paris. - Severe nervous disease.
1832. - Acquaintance with Olympia Pelissier (later the second wife of R.).
1836. - Receipt from the French. government of a lifetime pension.- Return to Bologna.
1837. - Break with I. Colbrand-Rossini.
1839. - Deterioration of health. - Obtaining the title of honorary president of the commission for the reform of the Bologna Muses. lyceum (becomes its permanent consultant).
1842. - Spanish. Stabat mater in Paris (7th I) and in Bologna (13th III, under G. Donizetti).
1845. - 7 X. Death of I. Kolbran. - Appointment of R. to the post. Director of the Bologna Music lyceum.
1846. - 21 VIII. Marriage to O. Pelissier.
1848. - Moving with his wife to Florence.
1855. - Departure from Italy with his wife. Life in Paris.
1864. - 14 III. Use "Little Solemn Mass" in the palace of Count Pilet-Ville.
1867. - Autumn. Deterioration in health.
1868. - 13 XI. Death of R. in Passy, ​​near Paris.- 15 XI. Burial in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.
1887. - 2 V. Transfer of the ashes of R. to Florence, to the church of Santa Croce.
Compositions : operas - Demetrio and Polibio (1806, post. 1812, tr. "Balle", Rome), Promissory note for marriage (La cambiale di matrimonio, 1810, tr. "San Moise", Venice), Strange case (L "equivoco stravagante, 1811, "Teatro del Corso", Bologna), Happy Deception (L "inganno felice, 1812, t-r "San Moise", Venice), Cyrus in Babylon (Ciro in Babilonia, 1812, t-r "Municipale", Ferrara), Silk Staircase (La scala di seta, 1812, tr "San Moise", Venice), Touchstone (La pietra del parugone, 1812, tr "La Scala", Milan), The case makes a thief, or Messed up suitcases (L "occasione fa il ladro, ossia Il cambio délia valigia, 1812, tr "San Moise", Venice), Signor Bruschino, or Random Son (Il signor Bruschino, ossia Ilfiglio per azzardo , 1813, ibid), Tancred (1813, tr Fenice, Venice), Italian in Algeria (L "italiana in Algeri, 1813, tr San Benedetto, Venice), Aurelian in Palmyra (Aureliano in Palmira, 1813, t-r "La Scala", Milan), Turk in Italy (Il turco in Italia, 1814, ibid.), Sigismondo (1814, t-r "Fenice", Venice), Elizabeth, Queen of England (Elisabetta, regina d "Inghilterra, 1815, tr. "San Carlo", Naples), Torvaldo and Dorliska (1815, tr. "Balle", Rome), Almaviva , or Vain Precaution (Almaviva, ossia L "inutile precauzione; known under the name Barber of Seville - Il barbiere di Siviglia, 1816, tr "Argentina", Rome), Newspaper, or Marriage by competition (La gazzetta, ossia Il matrimonio per concorso, 1816, tr "Fiorentini", Naples), Othello, or the Venetian Moor (Otello, ossia Il toro di Venezia, 1816, tr "Del Fondo", Naples), Cinderella, or the Triumph of Virtue (Cenerentola, ossia La bonta in trionfo, 1817, tr "Balle", Rome) , Magpie thief (La gazza ladra, 1817, tr "La Scala", Milan), Armida (1817, tr "San Carlo", Naples), Adelaide of Burgundy (Adelaide di Borgogna, 1817, tr "Argentina", Rome), Moses in Egypt (Mose in Egitto, 1818, tr "San Carlo", Naples; French ed. - under the title Moses and Pharaoh, or Crossing the Red Sea - Mopse et pharaon, ou Le passage de la mer Rouge, 1827, "Royal Academy of Music and Dance", Paris), Adina, or Caliph of Bagdad (Adina o Il califfo di Bagdado, 1818, post. 1826, tr. "San Carlo", Lisbon), Ricciardo and Zoraida (1818, San Carlo shopping mall, Naples), Hermione (1819, ibid.), Eduardo and Christie on (1819, tr "San Benedetto", Venice), the Maiden of the Lake (La donna del lago, 1819, tr "San Carlo", Naples), Bianca and Faliero, or the Council of Three (Bianca e Faliero, ossia II consiglio dei tre, 1819, La Scala shopping mall, Milan), Mahomet II (1820, San Carlo shopping mall, Naples; French ed. - under the name Siege of Corinth - Le siige de Corinthe, 1826, "King Academy of Music and Dance", Paris), Matilde di Shabran, or Beauty and the Iron Heart (Matilde di Shabran, ossia Bellezza e cuor di ferro, 1821, tr "Apollo ", Rome), Zelmira (1822, tr "San Carlo", Naples), Semiramide (1823, tr "Fenice", Venice), Journey to Reims, or Hotel Golden Lily (Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L "albergo del giglio d" oro, 1825, "Italien Theatre", Paris), Count Ory (Le comte Ory, 1828, "King Academy of Music and Dance", Paris), William Tell (1829, ibid.); pasticcio (from excerpts from R.'s operas) - Ivanhoe (Ivanhoe, 1826, tr "Odeon", Paris), Testament (Le testament, 1827, ibid.), Cinderella (1830, tr "Covent Garden", London ), Robert Bruce (1846, King's Academy of Music and Dance, Paris), We're Going to Paris (Andremo a Parigi, 1848, Theatre Italien, Paris), Funny Accident (Un curioso accidente, 1859, ibid.); for soloists, choir and orchestra. - Hymn of Independence (Inno dell`Indipendenza, 1815, tr "Contavalli", Bologna), cantatas - Aurora (1815, ed. 1955, Moscow), The Wedding of Thetis and Peleus (Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo, 1816, t -r "Del Fondo", Naples), Sincere tribute (Il vero omaggio, 1822, Verona), Happy omen (L "augurio felice, 1822, ibid.), Bard (Il bardo, 1822), Holy Union (La Santa alleanza, 1822), Complaint of the Muses about the death of Lord Byron (Il pianto délie Muse in morte di Lord Byron, 1824, Almack Hall, London), Choir of the Municipal Guard of Bologna (Coro dedicato alla guardia civica di Bologna, instrumented by D. Liverani, 1848, Bologna), Hymn to Napoleon III and his valiant people (Hymne b Napoleon et a son vaillant peuple, 1867, Palace of Industry, Paris), National hymn (The national hymn, English national anthem, 1867, Birmingham); for orchestra - symphonies (D-dur, 1808; Es-dur, 1809, used as an overture to the farce A promissory note for marriage), Serenade (1829), Military march (Marcia militare, 1853); for instruments with orchestra - Variations for obligate instruments in F-dur (Variazioni a piu strumenti obligati, for clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello, 1809), Variations in C-dur (for clarinet, 1810); for spirit. orc. - fanfare for 4 trumpets (1827), 3 marches (1837, Fontainebleau), Crown of Italy (La corona d "Italia, fanfare for military orchestra, offering to Victor Emmanuel II, 1868); chamber-instrumental ensembles - duets for horns (1805), 12 waltzes for 2 flutes (1827), 6 sonatas for 2 violin, treble and k-bass (1804), 5 string quartets (1806-08), 6 quartets for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1808-09), Theme and Variations for flute, trumpet, horn and bassoon (1812); for piano. - Waltz (1823), Congress of Verona (Il congresso di Verona, 4 hands, 1823), Neptune's Palace (La reggia di Nettuno, 4 hands, 1823), Soul of Purgatory (L "vme du Purgatoire, 1832); for soloists and choir - cantata Harmony's Complaint about the death of Orpheus (Il pianto d "Armonia sulla morte di Orfeo, for tenor, 1808), Death of Dido (La morte di Didone, stage monologue, 1811, Spanish 1818, t-r "San- Benedetto", Venice), cantata (for 3 soloists, 1819, tr "San Carlo", Naples), Partenope and Higea (for 3 soloists, 1819, ibid.), Gratitude (La riconoscenza, for 4 soloists, 1821 , ibid.); for voice with orc. - cantata Shepherd's Offering (Omaggio pastorale, for 3 voices, for the solemn opening of the bust of Antonio Canova, 1823, Treviso), Song of the Titans (Le chant des Titans, for 4 basses in unison, 1859, Spanish 1861, Paris); for voice with fp. - Cantatas Elie and Irene (for 2 voices, 1814) and Joan of Arc (1832), Musical Evenings (Soires musicales, 8 ariettes and 4 duets, 1835); 3 vocal quartets (1826-27); Exercises for soprano ( Gorgheggi e solfeggi per soprano Vocalizzi e solfeggi per rendere la voce agile ed apprendere a cantare secondo il gusto moderno, 1827); 14 albums of vocal and instrumental pieces and ensembles united under the title Sins of old age (Püchés de vieillesse: Album of Italian songs - Album per canto italiano, French album - Album français, Restrained pieces - Morceaux réservés, Four appetizers and four desserts - Quatre hors d "oeuvres et quatre mendiants, for fp., Album for fp., skr., vlch., harmonium and French horns, many others, 1855-68, Paris, not published); sacred music - Graduate (for 3 male voices, 1808), mass (for male voices, 1808, performed in Ravenna), Laudamus (c. 1808), Qui tollis (c. 1808), Solemn Mass (Messa solenne, with P. Raimondi, 1819, Spanish 1820, Church of San Fernando, Naples), Cantemus Domino (for 8 voices with piano or organ, 1832, Spanish 1873), Ave Maria (for 4 voices, 1832, Spanish 1873), Quoniam (for bass and orchestra, 1832), Stabat mater (for 4 voices, choir and orchestra, 1831-32, 2nd ed. 1841-42, edited 1842, Ventadour Hall, Paris), 3 choirs - Faith, Hope, Mercy (La foi, L "espérance, La charité, for women's choir and piano, 1844), Tantum ergo (for 2 tenors and bass), 1847, Church of San Francesco dei Minori Conventuali, Bologna), About Salutaris Hostia (for 4 voices 1857), Little Solemn Mass (Petite messe solennelle, for 4 voices, choir, harmonium and piano, 1863, Spanish 1864, in the house of Count Pilet-Ville, Paris), the same (for soloists, choir and orc., 1864, Spanish 1869, "Italien Theatre", Paris), Requiem Melody (Chant de Requiem, for comte ralto and fp. , 1864); music for drama performances. t-ra - Oedipus in Colon (to the tragedy of Sophocles, 14 numbers for soloists, choir and orchestra, 1815-16?). Letters: Lettere inedite, Siena, 1892; Lettere inedite, Imola, 1892; Lettere, Firenze, 1902. Literature : Serov A.N., "Count Ori", Rossini's opera, "Musical and Theater Bulletin", 1856, No. 50, 51, the same in his book: Selected Articles, vol. 2, M., 1957; his own, Rossini. (Coup d "oeil critique), "Journal de St.-Petersbourg", 1868, No 18-19, the same in his book: Selected Articles, vol. 1, M., 1950; Khokhlovkina A., "The Barber of Seville "G. Rossini, M., 1950, 1958; Sinyaver L., Gioacchino Rossini, M., 1964; Bronfin E., Gioacchino Rossini. 1792-1868. Brief essay on life and work, M.-L., 1966; el same, Gioacchino Rossini. Life and work in materials and documents, M., 1973; Gioacchino Rossini. Selected letters, sayings, memoirs, edited-compiled, author of the introductory article and notes E. F. Bronfin, L., 1968; Stendhal, Vie de Rossini, P., 1824; Carpani G., Le Rossiniane, Padua, 1824; Ortigue J. d", De la guerre des dilettanti, ou de la révolution opérée par M. Rossini dans l "opéra français, P., 1829; Berlioz G., Guillaume Tell, "Gazette musicale de Paris", 1834, 12, 19 , 26 octobre, 2 novembre (Russian translation - Berlioz G., "William Tell", in his book: Selected Articles, M., 1956); Escudier M. et L., Rossini, P ., 1854; Mirecourt E. de, Rossini, P., 1855; Hiller, P., Aus dem Tonleben unserer Zeit, Bd 2, Lpz., 1868; Edwards H., Rossini, L., 1869; his, Rossini and his school, L., 1881, 1895; Rougin A., Rossini, P., 1870; Wagner R., Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen, Bd 8, Lpz., 1873; Hanslick E., Die moderne Oper. Kritiken und Studien, B., 1875, 1892; Naumann E., Italienische Tondichter von Palestrina bis auf die Gegenwart, B., 1876; Daurias L., Rossini, P., 1905; Sandberger A., ​​Rossiniana, "ZIMG", 1907/08, Bd 9; Istel E., Rossiniana, "Die Musik", 1910/11, Bd 10; Saint-Salns C., Ecole buissonnière, P., 1913, p. 261-67; Para G., Gioacchino Rossini, Torino, 1915; Сurzon H. de, Rossini, P., 1920; Radiciotti G., Gioacchino Rossini, vita documentata, opera ed influenza su l "arte, t. 1-3, Tivoli, 1927-29; his own, Anedotti authenticici, Roma, 1929; Rrod "homme J.-G., Rossini and his works in France, "MQ", 1931, v. 17; Toue F., Rossini, L.-N. Y., 1934, 1955; Faller H., Die Gesangskoloratur in Rossinis Opern..., V., 1935 (Diss.); Praccarolli A., Rossini, Verona, 1941, Mil., 1944; Vaschelli R., Gioacchino Rossini, Torino, 1941, Mil., 1954; his own, Rossini o esperienze rossiniane, Mil., 1959; Rfister K., Das Leben Rossinis, W., 1948; Franzén N. O., Rossini, Stockh., 1951; Kuin J. P. W., Goacchino Rossini, Tilburg, 1952; Gozzano U. , Rossini, Torino, 1955; Rognoni L., Rossini, (Parma), 1956; Weinstock H., Rossini. A biography, N. Y., 1968; "Nuova Rivista musicale italiana", 1968, Anno 2, No 5, sett./oct. (number dedicated to R.); Harding J., Rossini, L., 1971, id., N. Y., 1972. E.P. Bronfin.


Musical encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia, Soviet composer. Ed. Yu. V. Keldysha. 1973-1982 .

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini(1792-1868) - an outstanding Italian composer, author of 39 operas, sacred and chamber music.

short biography

Born in Pesaro (Italy), in the family of a horn player. In 1810 he wrote the opera "The Marriage Bill", which did not receive recognition. Success came to Rossini three years later, when his opera Tancred was staged in Venice, which won the largest opera scenes in Italy. Since then, success has accompanied him in almost all European countries. In 1815, in Naples, he signed a contract with the entrepreneur D. Barbaia, undertaking to write two operas a year for a constant annual salary. Until 1823, the composer worked selflessly, fulfilling the terms of the contract. At the same time, he made a tour trip to Vienna, where he was given an enthusiastic reception.

After a short stay in Venice, and having written the opera "Semiramide" for the local theater, Rossini went to London, where he enjoyed great success as a composer and conductor, and then to Paris. In Paris, he becomes director of the Italian Opera, but he is soon dismissed from this position. Considering the merits of Rossini as the greatest composer of the era, the position of chief intendant of royal music is created for him, and then the chief inspector of singing in France.

Having finished work on William Tell in 1829, Rossini did not write another opera until his death. All his composing work of this time was limited to "Stabat Mater", several chamber and choral works and songs. This is perhaps the only case in the history of music when the composer himself deliberately interrupted his creative work.

From time to time he still conducted, but, basically, he enjoyed the fame of an honored musician-composer and was engaged in the kitchen. A great gourmet, he loved delicious dishes and knew how to cook them, endlessly inventing new recipes. For some time he was a co-owner of the Paris Opera House. From 1836 he lived in Italy, mainly in Bologna, but after 19 years, he returned to Paris again and did not leave it until the end of his life.

When it was decided during the life of Rossini to erect a monument worth two million lire in his homeland in Pesaro, the composer did not agree, arguing: "Give me this money, and every day for two years I will stand for two hours on a plinth in any position" .

Rossini's creative heritage includes 37 operas ("The Barber of Seville", "The Thieving Magpie", "Italian in Algiers", "Cinderella", "William Tell", etc.), "Stabat Mater", 15 cantatas, numerous choral works, songs, chamber works (mainly quartets for wind instruments). His music is sustained in the style of late classicism and in Italian traditions. She is distinguished by her extraordinary temperament, inexhaustible melodic diversity, lightness, brilliant use of all shades of instruments and performing voices (including the coloratura mezzo-soprano, which had never been seen before), rich accompaniment, independent interpretation of orchestral parts, skillful characterization of stage situations. All these virtues place Rossini, along with Mozart and Wagner, among the greatest opera composers.

Artworks

operas:
"Promissory note for marriage" (1810)
"Italian in Algiers" (1813)
"The Barber of Seville" (1816)
"Cinderella" (1817)
"Moses in Egypt" (1818)
"William Tell" (1829)
5 string quartets
Stabat mater (1842)

Plan
Introduction
1 Biography
2 Operas
3 Other musical works
Bibliography

Introduction

Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Italian Gioachino Antonio Rossini; February 29, 1792, Pesaro, Italy - November 13, 1868, Passy, ​​France) - Italian composer, author of 39 operas, sacred and chamber music, cellist.

1. Biography

Rossini's father was a horn player, his mother was a singer; the boy grew up from childhood in a musical environment and, as soon as his musical talent was discovered, he was sent to develop his voice to Angelo Tesei in Bologna. In 1807, Rossini entered the Liceo filarmonico in Bologna as a student of composition at the Liceo filarmonico in Bologna, but interrupted his studies as soon as he took a course in simple counterpoint, since, according to Mattei, the knowledge of the latter was quite enough to be able to write operas.

Rossini's first experience was the one-act opera The Marriage Bill (Italian: La cambiale di matrimonio; 1810 at the San Mose Theater in Venice), which attracted little attention, as did the second, Strange Case (Italian: L "equivoco stravagante ; Bologna, 1811); however, they liked them so much that Rossini was inundated with work and had already written 5 operas by 1812. The following year, Tancred was staged on the stage of the Fenice Theater in Venice, and then The Italian in Algiers, which had a large success.

But the greatest triumph brought Rossini in 1816, the production on the stage of the theater "Argentina" in Rome, his "Barber of Seville"; In Rome, The Barber of Seville was met with great distrust, as they considered it impudent that anyone should dare to write, after Paisiello, an opera on the same subject; at the first performance, Rossini's opera was received even coldly; the second performance, which the frustrated Rossini himself did not conduct, on the contrary, was an intoxicating success: the audience even staged a torchlight procession.

In the same year, Othello followed in Naples, in which Rossini completely banished the recitativo secco for the first time, then Cinderella in Rome and The Thieving Magpie in 1817 in Milan. In 1815-23, Rossini signed a contract with the theatrical entrepreneur Barbaia, according to which, for an annual fee of 12,000 lire (4,450 rubles), he was obliged to supply 2 new operas every year; Barbaia was at that time in the hands of not only the Neapolitan theaters, but also the Scala Theater in Milan and the Italian Opera in Vienna.

In 1821 Rossini marries the singer Isabella Colbran. In 1823, at the invitation of the director of the Royal Theater in London, the composer went to Great Britain, where he was paid a salary of 7,000 pounds sterling for a five-month work. In 1824, Rossini received the post of director of the Italian Theater in Paris.

Rossini had no organizational skills at all, and within two years the position of the theater fell so that Viscount La Rochefoucauld, with the consent of Rossini himself, dismissed him from the entreprise and appointed him chief intendant of royal music and chief inspector of singing, a sinecure that brought Rossini 20,000 francs in salary. Although the July Revolution deprived Rossini of these posts, he managed, through a long process, to obtain a pension of 6,000 francs. Rossini wrote Tell in 1829, his main work in the field of grand opera and at the same time his last stage work.

For a long period of time from 1829 until his death (aged 38), Rossini took up the pen only to write his hymn Stabat Mater (1832); in a later, expanded form in 1841) and several church compositions and cantatas.

In 1845, the composer's first wife dies. In 1847 Rossini marries Olympia Pelissier. In 1855 he again settled in Paris, making his house one of the most fashionable musical salons.

Rossini died on November 13, 1868 in the town of Passy near Paris. In 1887, the ashes of the composer were transferred to Florence.

The name of Rossini is the conservatory in his hometown, created according to his will.

· "Marriage bill" (La Cambiale di Matrimonio) - 1810

“Strange Case” (L’equivoco stravagante) - 1811

Demetrius and Polybius (Demetrio e Polibio) - 1812

· "Happy Deception" (L'inganno felice) - 1812

· "Ciro in Babylon, or the Fall of Belshazzar" (Ciro in Babilonia (La caduta di Baldassare)) - 1812

The Silk Staircase (La scala di seta) - 1812

The touchstone (La pietra del paragone) - 1812

“Chance makes a thief” (L’occasione fa il ladro (Il cambio della valigia)) - 1812

Signor Bruschino (Il Signor Bruschino (or Il figlio per azzardo)) - 1813

"Tancredi" (Tancredi) - 1813

“Italian in Algiers” (L’Italiana in Algeri) - 1813

"Aureliano in Palmira" (Aureliano in Palmira) - 1813

"Turk in Italy" (Il Turco in Italia) - 1814

"Sigismund" (Sigismondo) - 1814

Elizabeth of England (Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra) - 1815

"Torvald and Dorliska" (Torvaldo e Dorliska) - 1815

“Almaviva, or the Vain Precaution” (The Barber of Seville) (Almaviva (ossia L’inutile precauzione (Il Barbiere di Siviglia))) - 1816

"Newspaper" (La gazzetta (Il matrimonio per concorso)) - 1816

Otello, or the Moor of Venice (Otello o Il moro di Venezia) - 1816

Cinderella, or the Triumph of Virtue (La Cenerentola o sia La bontà in trionfo) - 1817

The Thieving Magpie (La gazza ladra) - 1817

Armida - 1817

"Adelaide of Burgundy, or Otto, King of Italy" (Adelaide di Borgogna or Ottone, re d'Italia) - 1817

Moses in Egypt (Mosè in Egitto) - 1818

"Adina, or Caliph of Baghdad" (Adina or Il califfo di Bagdad) - 1818

Ricciardo and Zoraide (Ricciardo e Zoraide) - 1818

Hermione (Ermione) - 1819

· "Eduard and Christina" (Eduardo e Cristina) - 1819

The Lady of the Lake (La donna del lago) - 1819

Bianca and Faliero (Council of Three) (Bianca e Falliero (Il consiglio dei tre)) - 1819

"Mahomet the second" (Maometto secondo) - 1820

“Matilde di Shabran, or Beauty and the Iron Heart” (Matilde di Shabran, or Bellezza e Cuor di Ferro) - 1821

Zelmira - 1822

"Semiramide" (Semiramide) - 1823

“Journey to Reims, or the Golden Lily Hotel” (Il viaggio a Reims (L’albergo del giglio d’oro)) - 1825

The Siege of Corinth (Le Siège de Corinthe) - 1826

Moses and Pharaoh, or the Crossing of the Red Sea (Moïse et Pharaon (Le passage de la Mer Rouge) - 1827 (reworking of Moses in Egypt)

Count Ory (Le Comte Ory) - 1828

"William Tell" (Guillaume Tell) - 1829

3. Other musical works

Il pianto d'armonia per la morte d'Orfeo

Petite Messe Solennelle

· Cats Duet (attr.) - attributed.

Bassoon concerto

Messa di Gloria

Bibliography:

1. One or two "k" in the name of Gioachino reflect the instability in the spelling of the Italian original: Gioachino or Gioacchino.

2. Rossini in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia