Composer of the Week, Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
A five-episode examination of the life and works of Rossini.
First broadcast: January 2017
Duration: 1 hour per episode. 320kbps .mp3
Episode 1 of 5 - The Freshness of the Morning of Life
It's difficult to imagine now that for an entire century, until halfway through the last one, Gioachino Rossini's operas virtually disappeared from the world's stages. In his own time, he was hugely popular and prolific; he was without doubt the most successful composer of the early 19th century, who gave the public what they wanted and made a fortune. Donald Macleod tells the story of Rossini's first compositions for the stage, works that Rossini's biographer Stendhal believed "breathed with the freshness of the morning of life."
Rossini: William Tell, Overture (finale)
Daniel Perez Castaneda and Orchestra
Rossini: Cambiale di Matrimonio, Overture
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
Rossini: L'Inganno Felice ("Tacita notte amica...")
Annick Massis, soprano (Isabella)
Le Concert des Tuileries, conducted by Marc Minkowski
Rossini: La Mort di Didone
Mariella Devia, soprano (Didone)
Filarmonica della Scala, conducted by Riccardo Chailly
Rossini: La Pietra del Paragone ("Chi è colei che s'avvicina")
Dariusz Machej, bass (Macrobio)
Czech Chamber Chorus and soloists, conducted by Alessandro de Marchi.
Episode 2 of 5 - Genius in All Its Naivete
Rossini was never coy about re-using his own material. He was a practical man of the theatre, and where he thought an audience wouldn't have heard something before, he had no sense of shame about bringing it into play in a different context. This self-plagiarism was partly due to the sheer number of commissions he took on and the speed with which he turned them around. He once remarked: "The time and money allowed me for composing were so small that I scarcely had time to read the libretti I had to set." In this programme Donald Macleod focuses on the operas that first made Rossini world famous, including Tancredi and Elizabetta Regina d'Inghilterra.
Rossini: Sinfonia in D, 'Al Conventello'
Prague Philharmonic Choir & Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, conducted by Christian Benda
Rossini: Tancredi ("Oh patria..." & "Di tanti palpiti..."
Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano (Tancredi)
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro la Fenice, conducted by Ralf Weikert
Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri (Act 1, finale)
Lorenzo Regazzo, bass (Mustafa); Marianna Pizzolato, mezzo-soprano (Isabella); Ruth Gonzalez, soprano (Elvira); Elsa Giannoulidou, mezzo-soprano (Zulma); Lawrence Brownlee, tenor (Lindoro); Bruno de Simone, baritone (Taddeo)
Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Alberto Zedda
Rossini: Elizabetta Regina d'Inghilterra (Act 1, Sc 2)
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano (Elisabetta); Bruce Ford, tenor (Leicester); Antonino Siragusa, tenor (Norfolk); Majella Cullagh, soprano (Matilde)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Giuliano Carella
Rossini: The Barber of Seville, Overture
The King's Singers.
Episode 3 of 5 - Remember, Write Many More Like Barber
Written in haste and greeted with a disastrous opening night, Rossini's The Barber of Seville nevertheless went on to huge success and has remained prominent and popular in the repertoires of opera houses around the world. For large numbers of music lovers it stands as Rossini's finest work: his masterpiece. In today's programme Donald Macleod explores the stories behind Rossini's famous Barber.
The Barber of Seville ("Largo al Factotum")
Tito Gobbi, baritone (Figaro)
Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Alceo Galliera
Torvaldo e Dorliska (Act I, Sc 3)
Michele Bianchini, bass (Duca d'Ordow)
ARS Brunensis Chamber Choir & Czech Chamber Soloists, conducted by Alessandro de Marchi
The Barber of Seville, Overture
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado
The Barber of Seville ("Una voce poco fa...")
Maria Callas, soprano (Rosina)
Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Alceo Galliera
Barber of Seville (Act 1, Finale)
Sonia Ganassi, soprano (Rosina); Ramon Vargas, tenor (Conte Almaviva); Roberto Servile, baritone (Figaro); Angelo Romero, baritone (Bartolo); Franco de Grandis, bass (Don Basilio); Ingrid Kertesi, soprano (Berta)
Hungarian Radio Chorus & Failoni Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Will Humburg
The Barber of Seville ("First the doctor wants to marry...")
Jennifer Rhys-Davies, soprano (Berta)
Chorus and Orchestra of the English National Opera, conducted by Gabriele Bellini
The Barber of Seville ("Di si felice innesto")
Maria Callas, soprano (Rosina); Luigi Alva, tenor (Conte Almaviva); Tito Gobbi, baritone (Figaro); Fritz Ollendorf, bass (Bartolo); Nicola Zaccaria, bass (Don Basilio); Gabriella Carturan, mezzo-soprano (Berta)
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Alceo Galliera.
Episode 4 of 5 - The Great Renunciation
One of the legends which grew up about Rossini was the amazing speed with which he could complete an entire opera - two weeks in one case, eleven days in another. Overtures were habitually produced at the last minute, testing the nerves of theatre impresarios as the first night loomed. According to legend, one Neapolitan impresario resorted to desperate measures, locking Rossini up in an attic with a plate of macaroni, with four burly stagehands standing guard and ready to run with the music, as it emerged, sheet by sheet, to the copyists. Donald Macleod focuses on Rossini's later operas, including William Tell, his final opera before his "great renunciation".
Rossini: La Cenerentola ("Signore, una parole...")
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano (Cenerentola)
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Communale di Bologna, conducted by Riccardo Chailly
Rossini: Maometto II ("Ah! Che invan su questo ciglio")
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano (Anna)
Orchestra of Teatro la Fenice, conducted by Ion Marin
Rossini: Semiramide, Overture
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by Alberto Zedda
Rossini: Le Comte Ory ("En proie a la tristesse")
Sumi Jo, soprano (Adele)
Orchestra and Choir of L'Opera de Lyon, conducted by John-Eliot Gardiner
Rossini: William Tell, Ballet music
The Hallé Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.
Episode 5 of 5 - The Sins of Old Age
In 1829, after an extraordinarily prolific and successful career, Rossini turned his back on the world of opera, for good. He was still only 37, but we can hardly grudge him his early retirement: he'd completed 39 operas in 20 years. Many attempts were made to try to lure the great man back to the operatic stage, but he never became actively involved in any of the projects dangled before him. His musical energies would become centred on his famous Saturday soirees at his apartment after he'd settled permanently in Paris in 1857. Donald Macleod focuses on these years of retirement, including Rossini's final masterpiece, the Petite Messe Solennelle.
Rossini: William Tell ("O muto asil del pianto...")
Chris Merritt, tenor (Arnoldo)
Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, conducted by Riccardo Muti
Rossini: Robert Bruce, Overture
Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Milano, conducted by Riccardo Chailly
Rossini: La Regata Veneziana
Stella Doufexis, mezzo-soprano; Roger Vignoles, piano
Rossini: Giovanna d'Arco
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano; Charles Spencer, piano
Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle (O salutaris hostia & Agnus Dei)
Daniela Dessi, soprano; Gloria Scalchi, mezzo-soprano
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Communale di Bologna, conducted by Riccardo Chailly.
