The Music of Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)



The course will follow Rossini's biographical and artistic evolution from youth to maturity and the development of the techniques that gave form to his masterpieces. The early Rossini operas of the 19th century, are a departure from the melodrama that was then emerging. His ideal was that of opera as liberation through play, artifice, and enchantment. His rhythmic perfection, – the famous Rossini crescendo – makes of the music a wonderful game in itself. Between 1810 and 1829 he wrote thirty-nine operas including -- Barbiere di Siviglia, Cenerentola, L'italiana in Algeri, and William Tell. This fruitful period was followed by a silence that lasted the rest of his life, with the exception of a few sacred works, chamber music, and piano pieces.



Required Texts:

Vittorio Emiliani, Il furore e il silenzio. Vite di Gioachino Rossini, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2008. ISBN-10: 8815125051 - ISBN-13: 978-8815125057

Giovanni Carli Ballola, Rossini. L’uomo, la musica, Bompiani, Milano, 2009

ISBN-10: 8845261441 - ISBN-13: 978-8845261442