Italian composer Rossini: biography, creativity, life story and best works. Other musical works

The famous Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 in the small town of Pesaro, located on the coast of the Gulf of Venice.

Since childhood, he has been involved in music. His father, Giuseppe Rossini, nicknamed Veselchak for his playful disposition, was a city trumpeter, and his mother, a woman of rare beauty, had a beautiful voice. There were always songs and music in the house.

Being a supporter of the French Revolution, Giuseppe Rossini joyfully welcomed the entry of revolutionary units into Italy in 1796. The restoration of the power of the Pope was marked by the arrest of the head of the Rossini family.

Having lost his job, Giuseppe and his wife were forced to become itinerant musicians. Rossini's father was a horn player in orchestras that performed in fair performances, and his mother performed opera arias. The beautiful soprano Gioacchino, who sang in church choirs, also brought income to the family. The boy's voice was highly appreciated by the choirmasters of Lugo and Bologna. In the last of these cities, famous for its musical traditions, the Rossini family found shelter.

In 1804, at the age of 12, Gioacchino began to study music professionally. His teacher was the church composer Angelo Tesei, under whose guidance the boy quickly mastered the rules of counterpoint, as well as the art of accompaniment and singing. A year later, young Rossini set off on a journey through the cities of Romagna as a bandmaster.

Recognizing the inadequacy of music education, Gioacchino decided to continue it at the Bologna Music Lyceum, where he was enrolled as a cello student. Classes in counterpoint and composition were supplemented independent study scores and manuscripts from the rich Lyceum library.

Passion for the work of such famous musical figures as Cimarosa, Haydn and Mozart, had a special influence on the development of Rossini as a musician and composer. While still a student of the Lyceum, he became a member of the Bologna Academy, and after graduation, in recognition of his talent, he received an invitation to conduct a performance of Haydn's oratorio The Four Seasons.

Gioacchino Rossini early discovered an amazing capacity for work, he quickly coped with any creative task, showing the wonders of amazing compositional technique. During the years of teaching he wrote a large number of musical works, including spiritual works, symphonies, instrumental music And vocal works, as well as excerpts from the opera "Demetrio and Polibio", the first work of Rossini in this genre.

The year of graduation from the musical lyceum was marked by the beginning of the simultaneous activity of Rossini as a singer, bandmaster and opera composer.

The period from 1810 to 1815 was marked in the life of the famous composer as "wandering", at this time Rossini wandered from one city to another, not staying anywhere for more than two or three months.

The fact is that in Italy of the 18th - 19th centuries, permanent opera houses existed only in major cities- such as Milan, Venice and Naples, small settlements had to be content with the art of itinerant theatrical troupes, usually consisting of a prima donna, a tenor, a bass, and a few supporting singers. The orchestra was recruited from local music lovers, military and traveling musicians.

The maestro (composer), hired by the troupe impresario, wrote music to the provided libretto, and the performance was staged, while the maestro had to conduct the opera himself. With a successful production, the work was performed for 20-30 days, after which the troupe disintegrated, and the artists scattered around the cities.

Within five for long years Gioacchino Rossini wrote operas for traveling theaters and artists. Close cooperation with the performers contributed to the development of great composer flexibility, it was necessary to take into account the vocal abilities of each singer, the tessitura and timbre of his voice, artistic temperament, and much more.

The delight of the public and penny fees - that's what Rossini received as a reward for his composing work. In his early works some haste and carelessness were noted, which caused severe criticism. Thus, the composer Paisiello, who saw a formidable rival in Gioacchino Rossini, spoke of him as "a dissolute composer, little versed in the rules of art and devoid of good taste."

Criticism did not bother the young composer, since he was well aware of the shortcomings of his works, in some scores he even noted the so-called grammatical errors with the words "to satisfy the pedants".

In the early years of independent creative activity Rossini worked on writing mainly comic operas that had strong roots in the musical culture of Italy. In his later work, the genre of serious opera occupied an important place.

Unprecedented success came to Rossini in 1813, after the performances in Venice of the works "Tankred" (opera seria) and "Italian in Algiers" (opera buffa). The doors of the best theaters in Milan, Venice and Rome opened before him, arias from his compositions were sung in carnivals, city squares and streets.

Gioacchino Rossini became one of the most popular composers Italy. Memorable melodies filled with irresistible temperament, fun, heroic pathos and love lyrics, produced unforgettable impression on the whole of Italian society, whether it be aristocratic circles or a society of artisans.

The composer's patriotic ideas, sounding in many of his works of a later period, also found a response. So, in the typical buffoonish plot of "Italian in Algeria" with fights, scenes with disguises and lovers who get into a mess, patriotic themes are unexpectedly wedged.

The main heroine of the opera, Isabella, addresses her beloved Lindor, who is languishing in captivity at the Algerian Bey Mustafa, with the words: “Think about your homeland, be fearless and do your duty. Look: throughout Italy, sublime examples of valor and dignity are being revived. This aria reflects the patriotic feelings of the era.

In 1815, Rossini moved to Naples, where he was offered a position as a composer at the San Carlo Opera House, which promised a number of profitable prospects, such as high fees and work with famous performers. Moving to Naples was marked for the young Gioacchino by the end of the period of "vagrancy".

From 1815 to 1822, Rossini worked in one of the best theaters in Italy, at the same time he traveled around the country and completed orders for other cities. On the stage of the Neapolitan theater, the young composer made his debut with the opera seria "Elizabeth, Queen of England", which was a new word in traditional Italian opera.

Since ancient times, the aria as a form of solo singing has been a musical core similar works, the composer was faced with the task of outlining only the musical lines of the opera and highlighting in vocal parts main melodic circuit.

The success of the work in this case depended only on the improvisational talent and taste of the virtuoso performer. Rossini departed from a long tradition: violating the rights of the singer, he wrote out in the score all the coloratura, virtuoso passages and decorations of the aria. Soon this innovation entered the work of other Italian composers.

The Neapolitan period contributed to the improvement musical genius Rossini and the composer's transition from the light genre of comedy to more serious music.

The situation of the growing social upsurge, which was resolved by the uprising of the Carbonari in 1820-1821, required more significant and heroic images than the frivolous characters of comedic works. Thus, in the opera seria there were more opportunities to express new trends that Gioacchino Rossini was sensitive to.

For a number of years, the main object of the outstanding composer's work was a serious opera. Rossini sought to change the musical and plot standards of the traditional seria opera, which were already defined in early XVIII centuries. He tried to introduce significant content and drama into this style, to expand connections with real life and the ideas of his time, in addition, the composer gave a serious opera the activity and dynamics borrowed from the buffa opera.

The time of work in the Neapolitan theater turned out to be very significant in terms of its achievements and results. During this period, such works as "Tancred", "Othello" (1816) were written, which reflected Rossini's inclination for high drama, as well as monumental heroic writings"Moses in Egypt" (1818) and "Mohammed II" (1820).

Romantic tendencies developing in Italian music demanded new artistic images and means of musical expression. Rossini's opera The Woman from the Lake (1819) reflects such features of the romantic style in music as picturesque descriptions and the transfer of lyrical experiences.

The best works of Gioacchino Rossini are considered to be " barber of seville”, created in 1816 for staging in Rome during the carnival holidays and which became the result of the composer’s many years of work on a comic opera, and the heroic-romantic work “William Tell”.

In The Barber of Seville, all the most vital and vivid from the buffa opera was preserved: the democratic traditions of the genre and national elements were enriched in this work, permeated through and through with smart, biting irony, sincere fun and optimism, a realistic depiction of the surrounding reality.

The first production of The Barber of Seville, written in just 19 or 20 days, was unsuccessful, but already at the second show the audience enthusiastically welcomed the famous composer, there was even a torchlight procession in honor of Rossini.

The basis opera libretto, consisting of two acts and four paintings, the plot is laid work of the same name famous French playwright Beaumarchais. The place of events unfolding on the stage is the Spanish Seville, the main characters are Count Almaviva, his beloved Rosina, the barber, physician and musician Figaro, Dr. Bartolo, Rosina's guardian and the monk Don Basilio, Bartolo's secret attorney.

In the first picture of the first act, Count Almaviva, in love, wanders near the house of Dr. Bartolo, where his beloved lives. His lyrical aria is heard by Rosina's cunning guardian, who himself has views of his ward. Figaro, the master of all sorts, comes to the aid of the lovers, inspired by the count's promises.

The action of the second picture takes place in the house of Bartolo, in the room of Rosina, who dreams of sending a letter to her admirer Lindor (Count Almaviva is hidden under this name). At this time, Figaro appears and offers his services, but the unexpected arrival of a guardian forces him to hide. Figaro learns about the insidious plans of Bartolo and Don Basilio and hurries to warn Rosina about this.

Soon Almaviva bursts into the house under the guise of a drunken soldier, Bartolo tries to put him out the door. In this turmoil, the count manages to quietly pass a note to his beloved and inform that Lindor is he. Figaro is also here, together with Bartolo's servants, he is trying to separate the owner of the house and Almaviva.

Everyone falls silent only with the arrival of a team of soldiers. The officer gives the order to arrest the count, but the paper filed with a majestic gesture instantly changes his behavior. The representative of the authorities bows respectfully to the disguised Almaviva, causing bewilderment among all those present.

The second action takes place in Bartolo's room, where the amorous count, disguised as a monk, arrives, posing as Don Alonzo's singing teacher. To gain Dr. Bartolo's trust, Almaviva gives him Rosina's note. The girl, recognizing her Lindor in the monk, willingly starts her studies, but the presence of Bartolo interferes with the lovers.

At this time, Figaro arrives and offers the old man a shave. By cunning, the barber manages to get hold of the key to Rosina's balcony. The arrival of Don Basilio threatens to ruin the well-played performance, but he is “removed” from the stage just in time. The lesson resumes, Figaro continues the shaving procedure, trying to block the lovers from Bartolo, but the deception is revealed. Almaviva and the barber are forced to flee.

Bartolo, using a note from Rosina, carelessly given to him by the count, persuades the disappointed girl to sign the marriage contract. Rosina reveals to her guardian the secret of the impending escape, and he goes to fetch the guards.

At this time, Almaviva and Figaro enter the girl's room. The count asks Rosina to become his wife and receives consent. The lovers want to leave the house as soon as possible, but an unexpected obstacle arises in the form of the lack of stairs near the balcony and the arrival of Don Basilio with a notary.

The appearance of Figaro, who announced Rosina as his niece and Count Almaviva as her fiancé, saves the day. Dr. Bartolo, who came with the guards, finds the marriage of the ward already accomplished. In impotent rage, he attacks the "traitor" Basilio and the "scoundrel" Figaro, but Almaviva's generosity bribes him, and he joins the general welcoming chorus.

The libretto of The Barber of Seville differs significantly from the original source: here the social sharpness and satirical orientation of Beaumarchais's comedy turned out to be greatly softened. For Rossini, Count Almaviva is a lyrical character, not an empty rake-aristocrat. His sincere feelings and the pursuit of happiness triumph over the greedy designs of Bartolo's guardian.

Figaro appears as a cheerful, dexterous and enterprising person, in whose party there is not even a hint of moralizing and philosophizing. Figaro's life credo is laughter and jokes. These two characters are contrasted with negative characters - the stingy old man Bartolo and the hypocritical hypocrite Don Basilio.

Cheerful, sincere, contagious laughter is the main tool of Gioacchino Rossini, who in his musical comedies and farces relies on the traditional images of the buffa opera - the amorous guardian, the dexterous servant, the pretty pupil and the cunning rogue monk.

Reviving these masks with features of realism, the composer gives them the appearance of people, as if snatched from reality. It happened that the action depicted on the stage or the character was associated by the public with a certain event, incident or a specific person.

Thus, "The Barber of Seville" is realistic comedy, the realism of which is manifested not only in the plot and dramatic situations, but also in generalized human characters, in the composer's ability to typify the phenomena of contemporary life.

The overture that precedes the events of the opera sets the tone for the entire work. She plunges into the atmosphere of fun and easy jokes. In the future, the mood created by the overture is concretized in a certain fragment of the comedy.

Despite the fact that this musical introduction was repeatedly used by Rossini in other works, it is perceived as an integral part of the Barber of Seville. Each theme of the overture is based on a new melodic basis, and the connecting parts create a continuity of transitions and give the overture an organic integrity.

The fascination of the operatic action of The Barber of Seville depends on the variety of compositional techniques used by Rossini: introduction, the effect of which is the result of a combination of stage and musical action; alternation of recitatives and dialogues with solo arias characterizing this or that character, and duets; ensemble scenes with a through line of development, designed to mix different plot threads and maintain intense interest in further development events; orchestral parts that support the rapid pace of the opera.

The source of the melody and rhythm of "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini is a bright temperamental italian music. In the score of this work, everyday song and dance turns and rhythms are heard, which form the basis of this musical comedy.

Created after The Barber of Seville, the works Cinderella and Magpie the Thief are far from the usual comedy genre. The composer pays more attention to lyrical characteristics and dramatic situations. However, with all the striving for a new Rossini, he could not finally overcome the conventions of a serious opera.

In 1822, together with a troupe of Italian artists famous composer went on a two-year tour of the capitals of European countries. Glory walked ahead of the illustrious maestro, everywhere he was expected by a luxurious reception, huge fees and the best theaters and performers of the world.

In 1824, Rossini became the head of the Italian opera house in Paris and did much in this post to promote Italian opera music. In addition, the famous maestro patronized young Italian composers and musicians.

During the Parisian period, Rossini wrote a number of works for French opera, many old works have been reworked. So, the opera "Mohammed II" in the French edition was called "The Siege of Coronth" and was a success on the Parisian stage. The composer managed to make his works more realistic and dramatic, to achieve simplicity and naturalness of musical speech.

The influence of the French operatic tradition was manifested in a more rigorous interpretation of the operatic plot, a shift in emphasis from lyrical to heroic scenes, simplification vocal style, giving greater value mass scenes, choir and ensemble, as well as attentive attitude to the opera orchestra.

All the works of the Parisian period were preparatory stage on the way to creating the heroic-romantic opera "William Tell", in which the solo arias of traditional Italian operas were replaced by mass choral scenes.

The libretto of this work, which tells about the national liberation war of the Swiss cantons against the Austrians, fully met the patriotic moods of Gioacchino Rossini and the requirements of the progressive public on the eve of revolutionary events 1830.

The composer worked on "William Tell" for several months. The premiere, which took place in the autumn of 1829, caused rave reviews from the public, but this opera did not receive much recognition and popularity. Outside of France, the production of William Tell was taboo.

Pictures of the folk life and traditions of the Swiss served only as a background for depicting the anger and indignation of the oppressed people, the finale of the work is an uprising populace against foreign enslavers - reflected the feelings of the era.

The most famous fragment of the opera "William Tell" was the overture, remarkable for its brilliance and skill - an expression of the multifaceted composition of the entire musical work.

The artistic principles used by Rossini in William Tell found application in the works of many figures of French and Italian opera of the 19th century. And in Switzerland they even wanted to erect a monument to the famous composer, whose work contributed to the intensification of the national liberation struggle of the Swiss people.

The opera "William Tell" was the last work of Gioacchino Rossini, who suddenly stopped writing at the age of 40. opera music and took up the arrangement of concerts and performances. In 1836, the celebrated composer returned to Italy, where he lived until the mid-1850s. Rossini provided all possible assistance to the Italian rebels and even wrote the national anthem in 1848.

However, a severe nervous illness forced Rossini to move to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. His house became one of the centers of the artistic life of the French capital; many world-famous Italian and french singers, composers and pianists.

Leaving operatic creativity did not weaken the glory of Rossini, which came to him in his youth and did not leave even after death. From created in the second half of life special attention the collections of romances and duets "Musical Evenings", as well as sacred music "Stabat mater" deserve it.

Gioacchino Rossini died in Paris in 1868 at the age of 76. A few years later, his ashes were sent to Florence and buried in the pantheon of the church of Santa Croce - a kind of tomb. the best representatives Italian culture.

What praises the poets of Gioacchino Rossini lavished! Heinrich Heine called him "divine maestro", Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - "Europe's darling" ... but, perhaps, it would be more correct to call him the savior of Italian opera. Italy is always associated with opera art, and it is not easy to imagine that the Italian opera could lose ground, degenerate into something meaningless - into empty entertainment in the opera buffa and a series of far-fetched plots in the opera seria. However, in early nineteenth century the situation was just that. The genius of Rossini was needed to correct the situation, to breathe new life into the Italian opera.

The life of Gioacchino Rossini was connected with opera in his childhood: having been born in Pesaro, the boy wandered around Italy with his father and mother, a horn orchestra player and opera singer. There was no talk of systematic studies, but hearing and musical memory developed perfectly.

Gioacchino had a beautiful voice. Due to his overly ardent temperament, his parents doubted that he could become opera singer, but believed that he could become a composer. There were grounds for such assumptions - by the age of thirteen the boy had already created several sonatas for string instruments. He was introduced to the composer Stanislao Mattei. With him, the fourteen-year-old Rossini began to study composition at the Bologna Musical Lyceum. Even then, Gioacchino determined the direction of his future creative path, creating the opera Demetrio and Polibio - however, it was staged only in 1812, therefore, it cannot be considered Rossini's operatic debut.

Rossini's real operatic debut came later, in 1810, with the opera-farce The Marriage Promissory Note, presented at the San Moise theater in Venice. The composer spent a few days to create music. The speed and ease of work will continue to be the hallmark of Rossini. The following comic operas - " strange case"and" Happy Deception "- were also staged in Venice, and the plot of the latter before Rossini was used by Giovanni Paisiello ( similar situation still appear in the creative biography of the composer). This was followed by the first opera seria after Demetrio and Polibio - Cyrus in Babylon. And finally, an order from La Scala. The success of the opera The Touchstone, created for this theater, made the twenty-year-old composer famous. International fame was brought to him by the buffa opera "" and the opera on the heroic plot "Tancred".

It cannot be said that creative biography Rossini was a continuous "road of glory" - for example, "Turk in Italy", created in 1814 for Milan, did not bring him success. Circumstances were much more successful in Naples, where Rossini created the opera Elisabeth, Queen of England. the main role intended for Isabella Colbran. A few years later, the prima donna became the wife of Rossini ... But this is not the only thing that is remarkable about "Elizabeth": if before the singers arbitrarily improvised fioritures, demonstrating their brilliant technique, now Rossini put an end to this arbitrariness of the performers, carefully writing out all the vocal embellishments and demanding their exact reproduction.

A remarkable event in the life of Rossini took place in 1816 - his opera Almaviva was first staged in Rome, later known under the title "". To title it in the same way as the comedy of Pierre Augustin Beaumarchais, the author did not dare, because before him this plot was embodied in the opera by Giovanni Paisiello. Opera buffa failed in Rome and was a big hit in theaters other than Italy. According to Stendhal, after Napoleon, Rossini became the only person who is talked about throughout Europe.

Rossini creates another comic opera - "", but written in 1817 "" is closer to the drama. IN further composer more occupied by dramatic, tragic and legendary plots: "Othello", "", "Mohammed II", "Lady of the Lake".

In 1822 Rossini spent four months in Vienna. Here his opera "Zelmira" was staged. Not everyone was delighted with her - for example, Carl Maria von Weber sharply criticized her - but on the whole Rossini was a success with the Viennese public. From Vienna, he briefly returns to Italy, where his opera "", which has become the last example of an opera seria, is staged, and then visits London and Paris. A warm welcome awaited him in both capitals, and in France, at the suggestion of the minister of the royal court, he headed Italian theater. His first work, created in this capacity, was the opera "", dedicated to the coronation of Charles X.

In an effort to create an opera for the French public, Rossini carefully studies its tastes, as well as the features of the French language and theater. The result of the work is the successful performance of new editions of two works - "Mohammed II" (under the title "The Siege of Corinth") and "", as well as a work in the genre of French comic opera - "Count Ory". In 1829, his new heroic opera "" was staged at the Grand Opera.

And now, after such a grandiose masterpiece, Rossini stops creating operas. In subsequent years, he wrote "", a cycle piano pieces"Sins of old age" - but for musical theater created nothing else.

Twenty years - from 1836 to 1856 - Rossini spent in home country, where he headed the Bologna Lyceum, then returned to France, where he remained until his death in 1868.

Since 1980, the Rossini Opera Festival has been held annually in Pesaro.

Music Seasons

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: PISCES

NATIONALITY: ITALIAN

MUSICAL STYLE: CLASSICISM

SIGNIFICANT WORK: WILHELM TELL (1829)

WHERE HAVE YOU HEARD THIS MUSIC: AS THE LONE RANGER LEITMOTE, OF COURSE.

WISE WORDS: “NOTHING IS LIKE TO INSPIRE. HOW SHORT TIME. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU HAVE A COPY WORKER OVER YOUR SOUL, COMING TO COLLECT YOUR COMPLETE WORK, OR AN IMPRESSARIO HAS YOU SUCCESSFUL AND RIPS YOUR HAIR OUT OF IMPATIENCE. IN MY TIME, ALL ITALY IMPRESSARIO HAVE BEEN BALD BY THE AGE OF THIRTY.”

The glory that fell on Gioacchino Rossini, when he was not yet twenty-five years old, fascinated Europe. In Italy, he enjoyed the adoration that in this century falls only to the share of pop idols of the teenage audience and soloists of "boy" groups. (Imagine a young Justin Timberlake mastering the secrets of counterpoint and stepping into the conductor's podium.)

Everyone went to his operas, everyone memorized his songs. Any Venetian gondolier, Bolognese merchant or Roman pimp could easily burst into Figaro's aria from The Barber of Seville. Rossini's street was invariably crowded, and the most ardent admirers strove to cut off a lock of his hair as a keepsake.

And then he disappeared. Dropped everything Retired. Nothing like this has ever happened before in the world of music. A man who was paid 30,000 pounds for a single tour in London suddenly puts an end to his career - it seemed unthinkable. Even more unthinkable was the man Rossini became ten years later: a recluse who hardly got out of bed, paralyzed by depression and tormented by insomnia. He got fat and bald.

The "diamond" of the Italian opera has turned into a wreck with shattered nerves. What is the reason for such a change? In short - a changed time that Rossini could not - or did not want - to understand.

DO NOT COMPOSE - WILL NOT EXIT

The composer's father, Giuseppe Rossini, was an itinerant musician, and when he was tired of moving from place to place, he settled in Pesaro, a city on the Adriatic, where he met with the singer (soprano) and part-time seamstress Anna Gvidarini - it was rumored, however, that Anna was together with her sister from time to time hunted on the panel. Be that as it may, in 1791 the young people got married when Anna was five months pregnant. Soon she gave birth to a son.

Gioacchino's childhood proceeded relatively well until Napoleon invaded Northern Italy. Giuseppe Rossini was seized by revolutionary fever, and in the future his sorrows and joys depended entirely on the fortune of the French general - in other words, he either went to prison or left it. Anna developed her son's obvious musical gift as best she could. And although Gioacchino was instructed by far from musical luminaries, in 1804 the twelve-year-old boy was already singing on stage. The audience enjoyed his high clear voice, and, like Joseph Haydn, Gioacchino thought about joining the ranks of the castrati. His father wholeheartedly supported the idea of ​​​​castrating his son, but Anna strongly opposed the implementation of this plan.

Real fame came to Rossini when, at the age of eighteen, having moved to Venice, he wrote his first opera, The Marriage Promissory Note. This musical comedy became an immediate hit. And suddenly Rossini was in demand by all the opera houses in Italy. He was respected for the speed with which he wrote scores: he could compose an opera in a month, several weeks, and even (in his words) in eleven days. The work was facilitated by the fact that Rossini did not hesitate to transfer melodies from one opera to another. Usually he started to fulfill the order far from immediately, and these delays drove the impresario into a frenzy. Rossini later said that when he was very late with the score of The Thieving Magpie, the director of the stage put him in custody, contracting four muscular stage workers for this purpose, and did not release him until the composer had finished the score.

HOW MANY BARBERS DO I NEED FOR ONE OPERA?

In 1815, in Rome, Rossini worked on his own famous opera"The Barber of Seville". He later claimed to have completed the score in just thirteen days. Probably, in a sense, this was true, given that Rossini adapted the overture already used three times for The Barber, only slightly redrawing it.

The libretto was based on the famous play by Pierre de Beaumarchais, the first part of the trilogy about the magnificent Figaro. Unfortunately, the famous Roman composer Giovanni Paisiello had already written an opera based on the same subject in 1782. In 1815, Paisiello was a very old man, but he still had devoted admirers who plotted to disrupt the premiere of Rossini's opera. The “oppositionists” booed and ridiculed every act, and at the exits the prima donnas made such a loud “boo-oo-oo” that the orchestra could not be heard. In addition, they threw a cat on the stage, and when the baritone tried to drive the animal away, the audience mewed mockingly.

Rossini fell into despair. Having locked himself in a hotel room, he flatly refused to attend the second performance, which, contrary to the admirers of Paisiello, ended in triumph. The impresario rushed to the hotel to Rossini, persuading him to get dressed and go to the theater - the audience was eager to greet the composer. “In the coffin I saw this audience!” cried Rossini.

MUSIC, WEDDING AND MEETING WITH THE MAESTRO

By the early 1820s, Rossini had become crowded within the framework of the comic opera, and at the same time within Italy. Traveling around the Italian cities no longer appealed to him, and he was tired of "cutting" the scores one after another. Rossini finally wanted to be taken as a serious composer. He also dreamed of a settled life. In 1815, Rossini met Isabella Colbran, a talented soprano, and fell in love with her; at that time, Colbrand was the mistress of the Neapolitan operatic impresario, who generously conceded the diva to the composer. In 1822, Rossini and Colbrand got married.

The opportunity to show the world a more mature Rossini presented itself in the same year, when the composer was invited to Vienna. He jumped at the invitation, he was eager to try out his works on a new, different audience and get to know the famous Beethoven. Rossini was horrified to discover that great composer dresses in rags and lives in a smelly apartment, but a long conversation took place between two colleagues. The German master praised The Barber of Seville, but then recommended that Rossini continue to write nothing but comic operas. "You don't have enough musical knowledge to handle real drama," Beethoven summed up. Rossini tried to laugh it off, but in reality the Italian composer was deeply hurt by the suggestion that he was incapable of composing serious music.

OPPRESSED BY PROGRESS

The following year, Rossini again went on foreign tours to France and England. At first everything went well, but crossing the English Channel on a newfangled steam ship scared the composer almost to death. He lay down for a week. And none of the honors that he was showered with in Britain - the favor of the king, a long standing ovation at the opera, rave reviews in the press - did not help to forget about the experienced nightmare. Rossini left England with a considerable addition to his purse, but with the firm intention of never returning there again.

In the same period, the first signs of a devastating depression began to appear. Although Rossini settled in Paris, and his new opera William Tell was a success, he only said that it was time for him to take a break from business. He tried to compose less lightweight music and even created the oratorio Stabat Mater (“There was a grieving mother”), but deep down he was convinced that no one would perceive him - let alone the oratorio - all the same.

THE PRESENTATION OF ONE OF ROSSINI'S OPERAS WAS DISTURBED BY COMMITTEES OF K0MP03IT0RA-S0PERNIKA - THE PUBLIC RESORTED TO EXTREME MEASURES, THROwing THE CAT ON THE STAGE.

Family life with Colbran became unbearable. Having lost her voice, Isabella became addicted to cards and booze. Rossini took comfort in the company of Olympia Pelissier, a beautiful and wealthy Parisian courtesan. He did not marry her for sex - gonorrhea made Rossini impotent - no, it was the union of a devoted nurse and a helpless patient. In 1837, Rossini officially announced his separation from Isabella and settled with Olympia in Italy. Shortly after Isabella died in 1845, Rossini and Pelissier were married.

Nevertheless, the 1840s were a painful time for the composer. Modern world horrified him. Journey through railway brought Rossini to a state of collapse. The new generation of composers like Wagner was both perplexing and depressing. And the reasons for the political unrest that gripped France and Italy remained an inexplicable mystery. While one Italian city after another rebelled against Austrian rule, Rossini and Olympia wandered the country in search of a safe haven.

The set of physical ailments suffered by Rossini looks impressive: drowsiness, headaches, diarrhea, chronic urethritis and hemorrhoids. He could hardly be persuaded to get out of bed, and at the same time he constantly complained of insomnia. But the most terrible disease was depression, which devoured the composer. Occasionally he played the piano and always in a darkened room so that no one could see him crying over the keys.

BETTER... - AND WORSE

At Olympia's urging, Rossini returned to Paris in 1855, and the depression receded slightly. He began to receive guests, admire the beauties of the city, and even began to write music again. The composer no longer tried to compose either serious music, which he once passionately dreamed of, or witty operas that glorified him - Rossini limited himself to short, elegant things that made up albums of vocal and instrumental pieces and ensembles, to which the composer gave the general name "Sins of Old Age". In one of these albums, called "Four Appetizers and Four Sweets" and containing eight parts: "Radishes", "Anchovies", "Gherkins", "Butter", " dried figs”, “Almonds”, “Raisins” and “Nuts”, - Rossini’s music combined with the composer’s newfound gourmandism. However, in the late 1860s, Rossini fell seriously ill. He developed rectal cancer, and the treatment caused him much more suffering than the disease itself. Once he even begged the doctor to throw him out the window and thereby end his torment. November 13, 1868, Friday, he died in the arms of his wife.

DISCOVERED FOR LOVE

Rossini periodically entered into a love affair with opera singers, and one of these novels unexpectedly turned out to be good for him. Mezzo-soprano Maria Marcolini was at one time the mistress of Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. And when Napoleon announced forced recruitment into the French army, Marcolini, using old connections, obtained an exemption from military service for the composer. This timely intervention may have saved Rossini's life - so many of the 90,000 Italian conscripts of the French army died during the emperor's ill-advised invasion of Russia in 1812.

STRONG SMALL

The following anecdote is told about Rossini: one day, friends decided to erect a statue of the composer to commemorate his talent. When they shared this idea with Rossini, he asked how much the monument would cost. “About twenty thousand lire,” he was told. After some thought, Rossini said: “Give me ten thousand lire, and I myself will stand on a pedestal!”

HOW ROSSINI DEALED WITH WAGNER

In 1860, the guiding star of the new German opera, Richard Wagner, paid a visit to Rossini, the faded star of the old Italian opera. Colleagues showered each other with compliments, although Wagner's music seemed sloppy and pretentious to Rossini.

A friend of Rossini once saw on his piano the score of Wagner's Tannhäuser turned upside down. A friend tried to put the notes correctly, but Rossini stopped him: “I already played like that, and nothing good came of it. Then I tried from the bottom up - it turned out much better. ”

In addition, Rossini is credited with the following words: "Mr. Wagner has wonderful moments, but each is followed by a quarter of an hour of bad music."

THE HORRIBLE PRINCESS FROM PESARO

In 1818, a guest at hometown Pesaro, Rossini met Caroline of Brunswick, the wife of the Prince of Wales, with whom the heir to the British throne had long since parted ways. The fifty-year-old princess lived openly with a young lover, Bartolomeo Pergami, and infuriated Pesaro's society with arrogance, ignorance and vulgarity (exactly the same, she brought her husband to white heat).

Rossini refused invitations to the salon of the princess and did not bow to her highness when meeting with her in public places - Carolina could not forgive such an insult. A year later, when Rossini came to Pesaro with the opera The Thieving Magpie, Carolina and Pergami put a whole gang of bribed hooligans into the auditorium, who whistled, shouted and brandished knives and pistols during the performance. Frightened, Rossini was secretly taken out of the theater, and that night he fled the city. He never performed again in Pesaro.