Everything is amazing

Rossini meets his muse and makes his name.

Gioachino Rossini, born in Italy in 1792, began writing music at the age of 12. His first opera was performed when he was 18, and he wrote 37 more in the span of 20 years. Then, at the peak of his fame, the composer suddenly disappeared from the public eye. What led him to this moment? This week, Donald Macleod traces Rossini's career, from his humble beginnings as the son of a horn player, learning to write music in order to support his family, to travelling the world and rubbing shoulders with royalty. We'll hear the truth behind his mysterious retirement and discover what made him return to composing, at the very end of his life.

In today's programme, we hear how Rossini escaped to Naples, met a Spanish soprano who would become his muse and wrote the opera which put him on the map: Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Tancredi
"Oh patria!... Tu che accendi questo core... Di tanti palpiti”
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto (Tancredi)
Orchestre national de Montpellier Occitanie
Enrique Mazzola, conductor

Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra
Overture; "Misera! A quale stato”
Montserrat Caballé, soprano (Elisabetta)
Ugo Benelli, tenor (Norfolk)
Neil Jenkins, tenor (Guglielmo)
London Symphony Orchestra
Gianfranco Masini, conductor

Il barbiere di Siviglia
Overture; "Una voce poco fa”
Maria Callas (Rosina)
Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus
Alceo Galliera, conductor

Otello
Act III: Danzone del gondiero: Nessun maggior dolore; Act III: Canzone del Salice: Assisa a pie d'un salice
Leonardo Cortellazzi, tenor (Un gondoliere)
Jessica Pratt, soprano (Desdemona)
Geraldine Chauvet, mezzo-soprano (Emilia)
Virtuosi Brunensis & Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir
Antonino Fogliani, conductor