Gioachino Rossini

Gioachino Rossini, the king of opera

A son of musicians, he studied singing and harmony in Bologna under the strict rule of the abbot Mattei. Passionate about the theatre, Gioachino Rossini at the early age of eighteen managed to have his first comic opera, The Marriage Contract performed in Venice. In 1813, the first production of Tancredi opened the path to success and made him the undisputed master of the Italian lyrical stage until Gaetano Donizetti’s appearance in the 1820s. Rossini worked hard and his compositions followed in extraordinarily rapid succession. The Barber of Seville, Othello and The Lady of the Lake bear witness to this joyous compulsion of vivacious musical writing full of quivering virtuosity. From 1824 onwards, Rossini settled in Paris and wrote his last opera, William Tell, (1829). He then gave up composing for the last thirty-six years of his life.