L'Italiana in Algeri: Dramma giocoso in Two Acts by Angelo Anelli (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas)

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Rossini, Gioachino

Music

Fondazione Rossini

Rossini's Otello, first performed in 1816, remained an immensely popular opera throughout the nineteenth century and was only eclipsed by Verdi's more Shakespearean version. The critical edition by Michael Collins allows us to rediscover Rossini's Otello as one of the composer's early masterpieces in the tragic genre.The first of eight serious operas newly-written for the Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Otello reveals Rossini as a composer deeply concerned with both character development and large-scale musical forms. Desdemona's "Willow Song" is a fine example: here not only is variation technique used for dramatic ends, but the song itself forms part of a larger scheme that encompasses the entire third act as a single, unified piece.Far more than a mere forerunner to Verdi, Rossini's Otello deserves to be known for its own innovative qualities.

Otello, ossia Il Moro di Venezia: Dramma per musica in Three Acts by Francesco Berio di Salsa (Volume 19) (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas)

Semiramide brought Rossini's Italian career to a spectacular close in 1823. Its key scenes have great musical and dramatic impact, and in its expansive dimensions he attains masterful heights. Yet Semiramide remains true to neoclassical archetypes of style and form, with its preponderance of arias and duets. Proving gratifying to generations of fine singers, it was one of Rossini's last opere serie to disappear from the repertory and the first to be revived. Today it remains his most frequently performed Italian heroic opera. This critical edition is based on the autograph score, including the spartitino (for the wind and percussion instruments in large ensembles) recently discovered in the archives of Venice's La Fenice. More than a dozen contemporary manuscript copies and numerous early printed vocal scores were also consulted. An appendix includes Gossett's edition of Rossini's sketches for several numbers. Following the main score in three volumes, a fourth volume provides the original realization for the on-stage band.

Semiramide: Melodramma tragico in Two Acts, Libretto by Gaetano Rossi (Volume 34) (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas)

<p>Italian Only. Critical Edition, edited by Corghi.</p>

L'Italiana in Algeri: Dramma giocoso per musica in Two Acts by Angelo Anelli (Volume 11) (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas)

Gioachino Rossini composed Zelmira in 1822 not only for Naples’s Teatro San Carlo, but also for a Viennese tour. He then took the work to London and Paris.  Mindful of his international audience, Rossini experimented in Zelmira. Avoiding an overture, the opera plunges directly into the drama; intense chromaticism and emphasis on minor keys create a dark tone. The ensembles especially exhibit a refined, classical ideal of beauty.This edition is the first publication of Zelmira in full score. It includes the Vienna aria “Ciel pietoso,” immediately considered integral to the opera, the Paris ending, and changes for Vienna and London. An additional volume provides authentic stage band music needed for three pieces.

Zelmira: Dramma per musica in Two Acts by Andrea Leone Tottola (Volume 33) (The Critical Edition of the Works of Gioachino Rossini, Section I: Operas)