Gioachino Rossini; Expanding the Art Form

            Gioachino Rossini was one of the most successful composers of opera in the history of the Italian medium. According to William Ashworth, he was born in 1792 and studied music composition with Padre Mattei in Bolegna.  The author Charles Osborne offers a more concise view of young Gioachino’s upbringing in the text Dictionary of Composers (published 1977), in the chapter that contains Rossini’s biography it is stated that he came from a very musical family, his father was a municipal trumpet player and his mother a singer. At an early age Rossini showed a strong interest in composition and often wrote airs and songs. When his father was terminated from his position in Pesaro, the family relocated to Bolegna where he would receive his education in music theory and counterpoint.

            Rossini was a prolific composer of fine works such as Tancredi (1810), Otello (1816), Le Siege de Corinthe, La donna del lago (1819) and Le Comte Ory (1828) all of which display a vitality in the compositional process complete with newly conceived forms for arias. This aspect would take shape as a multi-movement aria which started in a slow section, then and later a faster transition which would alter the character of the piece. Finally, the song would end with a “Caboletta” which would often contain some ornamentation of the second pass. This format would dominate opera’s duet and solo aria writing until the arrival of the shorter single movement arias of Puccini and Leoncavallo.

            Although many of his works were successful, only a comparative handful of Rossini’s pieces exist in the permanent opera repertoire and of these, arguably, the two most well known are; William Tell and The Barber of Seville.  William Tell is notable and memorable not only for its incredibly catchy overture which was adapted to the television show “The Lone Ranger” but also for the inspiring choruses and ballet music (as it was written for a Paris audience while he was living in France).  The Barber of Seville, on the other hand is incredibly notable for its contribution to the Soprano, Bass and Baritone solo repertoire. The often sung “Largo al Factotum” with its declaration of “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro” in rapid succession is a favorite for concert and parody.  Two other solo’s worthy of mention from The Barber is the energetic masculine bass aria sung by Don Basilio; “La Calunia” as well as the very popular “Una Voce Poco Fa” which employs colorful scales and daring vocal gymnastics for the solo soprano.

            The most interesting thing about the work and life of Rossini (in my opinion) was his decision to retire. To be sure, his body of work was greater than many composers could have hoped to achieve, but I had always been raised with the (probably overly romantic) notion that an artist’s worked because he had to, that to retire would be simply out of the question if one were “true to their craft.” It is a very telling thing that in many respects, artists are skilled workers who create a product much as the old artisans and craftsmen did. It then shows that the world of the arts tends to be more complex than a Hollywood film or Broadway musical  would have us believe.