Gioachino Rossini

Giochino Rossini: A Research and Information Guide is designed as a tool for those beginning to study the life and works of Gioachino Rossini as well as for those who wish to explore beyond the established biographies and commentaries. The first edition was published in 2001, and represented a survey of some 878 publications relating to the composer’s life and works. The second edition is revised and updated to include the more than 150 books and articles written in the field of Rossini studies since then. Contents range from sources published in the early decades of the nineteenth century to works currently in progress. General subject areas include Rossini's biography, historical and analytical studies of his operatic and non-operatic compositions, his personal and professional associations, and the reassessment of his role in the development of nineteenth-century music.

Gioachino Rossini was one of the most influential, as well as one of the most industrious and emotionally complex of the great nineteenth-century composers. Between 1810 and 1829, he wrote 39 operas, a body of work, comic and serious, which transformed Italian opera and radically altered the course of opera in France. His retirement from operatic composition in 1829, at the age of 37, was widely assumed to be the act of a talented but lazy man. In reality, political events and a series of debilitating illnesses were the determining factors. After drafting the Stabat Mater in 1832, Rossini wrote no music of consequence for the best part of twenty-five years, before the clouds lifted and he began composing again in Paris in the late 1850s. During this glorious Indian summer of his career, he wrote 150 songs and solo piano pieces his 'Sins of Old Age' and his final masterpiece, the Petite Messe solennelle. The image of Rossini as a gifted but feckless amateur-the witty, high-spirited bon vivant who dashed off The Barber of Seville in a mere thirteen days-persisted down the years, until the centenary of his death in 1968 inaugurated a process of re-evaluation by scholars, performers, and writers. The original 1985 edition of Richard Osborne's pioneering and widely acclaimed Rossini redefined the life and provided detailed analyses of the complete Rossini oeuvre. Twenty years on, all Rossini's operas have been staged and recorded, a Critical Edition of his works is well advanced, and a scholarly edition of his correspondence, including 250 previously unknown letters from Rossini to his parents, is in progress. Drawing on these past two decades of scholarship and performance, this new edition of Rossini provides the most detailed portrait we have yet had of one of the worlds best-loved and most enigmatic composers.

Introduction. "Bravo Figaro, Bravo Bravissimo!" -- A Whirlwind of Change -- Early Revivals : Almaviva, Bartolo, and Their Many Ways -- The World of Rosina and the Prima Donna's Playground -- A Return to Rossini -- The Untethered Splendor of Il barbiere di Siviglia.

This volume reflects on Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) and the international reception of his work 150 years after his death. Rossini was the most influential opera composer of the first half of the 19th century. His exceptional position in contemporary cultural life and the international success of his works meant that monuments were erected during his lifetime and biographies, novels and plays about him appeared. The volume explores his literary reception and the dissemination of his operas in the 19th and 20th centuries in various countries, focusing in particular on stylistic and compositional legacy, the theory and practice of operatic singing, treatises and biographical memoires, and Rossini's position in politics, society and public opinion. Translations and adaptations of Rossini's libretti are analyzed with regard to their functions within in the performances in different cultures and languages. Several chapters address the influence of Rossini and his music on other composers such as Giacomo Meyerbeer, Ottorino Respighi and Ferruccio Busoni. The fame that once surrounded Rossini, however, has been lost in the course of time, and many of his works fell into oblivion. The last section of the volume sheds new light on the so-called 'Rossini Renaissance', the revival of his works in the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries.

Delve into the life and legacy of the renowned composer Gioacchino Rossini in "The Life of Rossini" by H. Sutherland Edwards. This biographical work offers a comprehensive look into Rossini's contributions to the world of music, from his early beginnings to his lasting impact on the opera scene. Edwards' in-depth exploration provides music enthusiasts with a unique insight into the life and times of one of the greatest composers in history.

Publisher Description

First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.