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IL VERO OMAGGIO

Bongiovanni

$12.99 Oct 04, 2019

It is no secret that Rossini never wasted his energy and, partly out of haste and partly out of laziness, he was always ready to resurrect pages of music which would have otherwise been destined to oblivion. Thus, when in 1822 he was invited by Prince Klemens von Metternich to commemorate with suitable music the Congress of the European heads of state which would take place in Verona-to "harmonize" the souls, as it were-this proclaimed "God of harmony" gladly accepted. Il vero omaggio ("sincere" act of devotion toward the Austrian Emperor) was a recycling of the pastoral cantata La riconoscenza, performed by Rossini in Naples the year before. The sequence of pieces which constitute Il vero omaggio confirm Rossini's own statement: the musical nature of the cantata is quite similar to the first act of a normal opera. As such, it was enjoyed by the public of the period, partly due to the fact that the performance was staged. What distinguishes such a cantata from an opera is not, indeed, the visual aspect, as one might assume, but rather the absence of a veritable dramatic design. The subject of the cantata was thus a mere pretense for staging a public panegyric to the Austrian Emperor by means of a grandiose concert of vocal music. The work is interpreted here by conductor Herbert Handt.

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IL VERO OMAGGIO
Bongiovanni Oct 2019
CD
$12.99

Rossini: Peches de viellesse, Chamber Music & Rarities / Marangoni

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Apr 13, 2018

Featuring ten premiere recordings and a number of recently discovered ‘Sins of Old Age’ manuscripts unassigned to specific volumes, this album brings together a notable diversity of genres and instrumentation. They include the catchy ‘Allegretto’ for violin and piano that Rossini used as his musical calling card, the ‘Tarantelle pur sang’ for choir, harmonium, clochette and piano, and a harmonization of the simple folk melody ‘Marlbrough s’en va-t-en guerre’ that transforms it into a little musical gem. The Ars Cantica Choir was established in 1988 in Milan and today, as a body of professional singers, has won a reputation for its versatility and ability to tackle repertoire from the Renaissance to the contemporary.

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Rossini: Peches de viellesse, Chamber Music & Rarities / Marangoni
Naxos Apr 2018
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Opera Explained: ROSSINI - Tancredi (Smillie)
Naxos Sep 2004
CD
$12.99

Rossini: La scala di seta / Urru, Angelini, Pérez-Sierra, Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra

Naxos

$29.99 Jun 10, 2022

Gioachino Rossini was only 20 when he was commissioned to compose La scala di seta. It is one of four farsa comica operas which fed popular demand for this genre in Venice in the early 19th century and was wildly successful with its original audiences. Assisted by the silken ladder of the title, the diverting romantic intrigues of the narrative revolve around secretive assignations and obtuse misunderstandings, by no means helped by the presence of the slow-witted manservant Germano, in one of Rossini’s most successful comedies.

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Rossini: La scala di seta / Urru, Angelini, Pérez-Sierra, Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra
Naxos Jun 2022
CD
$29.99

PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE

Arcana

$20.99 Oct 08, 2021

This is the third recording to represent Giulio Prandi's interpretative research on the great Italian choral repertory, after the special and successful releases of works by Jommelli and Pergolesi, cornerstones of the golden age of the Neapolitan school. Faced with the challenge posed by Rossini's essential masterpiece, Prandi has chosen an original and courageous path, following deep reflection. The new critical edition of the Rossini Foundation of Pesaro is used here for the first time in a recording studio; three rare instruments roughly contemporary with the work - pianos by rard and Pleyel, a D bain harmonium - have been selected to ensure an authentic, vital, luminous sound, guaranteed by the artistry of the keyboardist and professor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Francesco Corti; four illustrious soloists have been engaged: Sandrine Piau, Jos Maria Lo Monaco, Edgardo Rocha and Christian Senn. Finally, the fundamental contribution of the Coro Ghislieri, an acknowledged world-class ensemble in early repertory, sets the seal on a recording of rare merit.

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PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE
Arcana Oct 2021
CD
$20.99

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Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Urania Records Feb 2015
CD
~~$32.99~~ $16.49

Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro / Bruno, Fewer, Silver, Quarrington

Leaf Music

$9.49 ~~$18.99~~ Save 50% Mar 19, 2021

Sonate a Quattro are the brilliant compositions from Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, written during the summer of 1804 at the young age of 12. These works, at the time, were commonly performed by wind quartet and it wasn’t until 1954 when the original manuscripts were discovered in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. showing their original arrangement for string quartet. The world premiere recording of Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro features two of Canada’s most respected and beloved performers - Mark Fewer (violin), and Joel Quarrington (bass) - and two of North America’s rising stars - Yolanda Bruno (violin), and Julian Schwarz (cello) and produced by JUNO award-winning producer John D.S. Adams. These performances, from November 2017, were recorded in collaboration with the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance using the newly released (2014) Critical Edition published by the Fondazione Rossini Pesaro.

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Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro / Bruno, Fewer, Silver, Quarrington
Leaf Music Mar 2021
CD
~~$18.99~~ $9.49

Haydn2032, Vol. 16 - The Surprise

Alpha

$20.99 Nov 01, 2024

'Joseph Haydn not only liked surprising his audiences, he also enjoyed a laugh', writes Christian Moritz-Bauer in the introduction to this sixteenth volume of the Haydn2032 complete recording of the symphonies. Take, for instance, the false conclusion of Symphony No. 90, composed in 1788: the music seems to have reached the last chord but, after a pause, the movement resumes to end with a powerful coda. Another example of Haydn's mischievous wit is the famous Andante 'with the drumstroke' that forms the 'surprise' of Symphony No. 94, a fortissimo chord designed to wake up audiences who dozed off towards the end of his concerts... In this volume focused on humour, Giovanni Antonini pays tribute to a great admirer of Haydn, Gioachino Rossini, by recording the sparkling opening Sinfonia of La scala di seta (The silken ladder), a one-act opera written in 1812.

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Haydn2032, Vol. 16 - The Surprise
Alpha Nov 2024
CD
$20.99

Rossini: Il Turco In Italia / Vinco, Marianelli, Concetti

Naxos AudioVisual

DVD

$30.99 Jan 27, 2009

Gioachino Rossini
IL TURCO IN ITALIA

Selim – Marco Vinco
Fiorilla – Alessandra Marianelli
Geronio – Andrea Concetti
Narciso – Filippo Adami
Prosdocimo – Bruno Taddia
Zaida – Elena Belfiore
Albazar – Daniele Zanfardino

Prague Chamber Chior
Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento
Antonello Allemandi, conductor
Guido De Monticelli, stage director

Filmed at the Teatro Rossini, Pesaro, Italy, 18 August 2007.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 / Dolby Surround 5.0 / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 165 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

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Rossini: Il Turco In Italia / Vinco, Marianelli, Concetti
Naxos AudioVisual Jan 2009
DVD
$30.99

LA GAZZA LADRA

Dynamic

DVD

$36.99 Jan 01, 2011

Tancredi and L’Italiana in Algeri, Rossini’s tenth and eleventh operas, both premiered in Venice, launched the composer on an unstoppable career. They saw him become the most prestigious opera composer of his time. The formidable impresario Domenico Barbaja summoned Rossini to Naples and offered him the position of musical director of the city’s two Royal Theatres, the San Carlo and Fondo. Barbaja’s proposals appealed to Rossini for several reasons. Not only was his annual fee generous and guaranteed, but also the San Carlo had a professional orchestra, unlike the theatres of Venice and Rome. The composer also saw this as a considerable advantage as he aspired to push the boundaries of his opera composition in more adventurous directions. Under the terms of the contract, Rossini was to provide two operas each year for Naples whilst being permitted to compose occasional works for other cities. The composer tended to test the limits of this contract and in the first two years composed no fewer than five operas for other venues, including four for Rome.

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LA GAZZA LADRA
Dynamic Jan 2011
DVD
$36.99

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Live)
Walhall Eternity Series Jan 2004
CD
$10.99

Rossini: La Cambiale Di Matrimonio / Franklin, Priante, Samsonova, Zanfardino, Mastrototaro

Naxos

$19.99 Jun 28, 2011

Lively and involving … a fine addition to the expanding list of Rossini operas on Naxos.

Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio was his first opera to be performed, premiered in 1810 at the Teatro San Moise in Venice. It ran for thirteen performances, which was not bad in the fast-paced Italian opera business. At the time Rossini was still a student at the Bologna Conservatory and in fact La cambiale di matrimonio was his second opera; Demetro e Polibio, written for another opera company was not premiered until 1812.

The libretto to La cambiale was by the experienced hand of Gaetano Rossi, who wrote the librettos for Tancredi and Semiramide. La cambiale isn’t quite in that class; it is based on a five-act comedy from 1790 which owes a lot to the comedies of Goldoni. The plot concerns the English merchant, Tobia Mill (Vita Priante), who desires to wed his daughter to a Canadian business contact Slook (Giulio Mastrototaro) very much as a business transaction. The daughter Fanny (Julija Samsonova) is in love with Eduardo Milfort (Daniele Zanfardino). The plot is helped along by Mill’s clerk Norton (Tomasz Wija) and the maid Clarina (Francesca Russo Ermolli). Needless to say all ends happily with Slook returning home disappointed.

La cambiale di matrimonio has not been that frequently on disc; not that the work is lacking in the necessary qualities but probably more because of the extensive dialogue – there is a great deal of it. In fact, in another composer’s hands it could have become little more than a comic play with songs. Instead Rossini creates a series of brilliant ensembles which certainly make the piece worth hearing.

This performance was recorded live at the Rossini in Wildbad festival with a cast which included four native Italians. This shows: the recording is vivid and entrancing, capturing the lively performance with dialogue rattling along at quite a rate of knots; there is also a bit of stage noise. The drawback is that Naxos provide only a detailed synopsis; you can download an Italian libretto but there doesn’t seem to be an English one which might put people off.

There are only four solo numbers - arias for Fanny and Clarina, entrance Cavatinas for Mill and for Slook. As was to become his wont in his serious operas, Rossini drives the plot through a series of duets, trios and ensembles with the first of his famous multi-part, dramatic finales.

The cast are perhaps not perfect, but their performances are all infectious. Priante and Mastrototaro are both a delight as the pair of buffo basses, making light of the fact that the tessitura of the parts seems to go rather high. They throw off Rossini’s roulades with a degree of abandon. Samsonova does not sing Fanny with quite the right amount of entrancing ripeness, at times her tone becomes a bit slender above the stave. Her account of the duet with Slook - where she has to repeatedly tell him that she will never be his - is inclined to be untidy, but this might also be the effect of the dramatic moment. These are not serious problems, she fits into the ensemble nicely. Zanfardino’s Milfort does not get an aria, though he duets with Samsonova; Zanfardino has a nicely slim lyric voice.

Wija and Russo Ermolli provide strong support in the important roles of Clarina and Norton. Russo Ermolli impresses in her aria. This Clarina is a young woman not a blowsy old maid and Russo Ermolli captures this nicely.

Under the lively direction of Christopher Franklin the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra acquits itself well, providing vivid support. They use a harpsichord for continuo.

This is a lively and involving account of Rossini’s first opera. Whilst not perfect, it does bring out the comic drama of the piece and is certainly a fine addition to the expanding list of Rossini operas on Naxos.
-- Robert Hugill, MusicWeb International

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Rossini: La Cambiale Di Matrimonio / Franklin, Priante, Samsonova, Zanfardino, Mastrototaro
Naxos Jun 2011
CD
$19.99

Rossini: L'occasione Fa Il Ladro / Fogliani, Martirosyan, Antonelou, Ruggeri, Utzeri

Naxos

$29.99 Aug 28, 2012

Composed by the young Gioachino Rossini in eleven days to comply with a contractual commitment, L’occasione fa il ladro (Opportunity Makes A Thief) is a comedy of multiple confusions. Count Alberto, travelling to be wed to a fiancée he has yet to meet, leaves an inn with the wrong suitcase. Don Parmenione audaciously adopts the Count’s identity, determined to take the bride for himself. This single-act burletta is a swift and deftly plotted moral drama, Rossini’s exuberant inspiration poured into interactions both tender and hilariously bewildering.

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Rossini: L'occasione Fa Il Ladro / Fogliani, Martirosyan, Antonelou, Ruggeri, Utzeri
Naxos Aug 2012
CD
$29.99

PAVAROTTI: THE LOST CONCERT - LIVE AT LLANGOLLEN

MERCURY STUDIOS

Blu-Ray

$25.99 Nov 21, 2025

Luciano Pavarotti -"Pavarotti: The Lost Concert - Live at Llangollen 1995" [Blu-ray] Marking the 40th anniversary of winning a singing competition as part of a choir from his hometown of Modena in 1955, Luciano Pavarotti returns to North Wales to give a special gala concert at the 1995 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Joining him that evening is the BBC Philharmonic, the modern-day Corale Gioachino Rossini, Modena and, for the finale, Japanese soprano Atzuko Kawahara. The program combines popular operatic arias & choruses, Neapolitan songs, one of Pavarotti's own compositions, orchestral overtures & interludes, and a special duet for the finale. The final moments of an unforgettable event are made even more emotional by the singer's departing words. "You don't know what this is for me, what it is for me to try to concentrate for myself tonight, in what I am doing, with my music - while a million of memories come to my mind. For forty years, I was looking for this day... thank you for the beautiful night that you gave to me." Blu-ray with 20-page booklet.

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PAVAROTTI: THE LOST CONCERT - LIVE AT LLANGOLLEN
MERCURY STUDIOS Nov 2025
Blu-Ray
$25.99

Mix & Match

Rossini: Aureliano in Palmira / Perez-Sierra, Poznan Camerata Bach Choir, Virtuosi Brunensis

Naxos

$17.99 ~~$35.99~~ Save 50% Sep 14, 2018

Aureliano in Palmira is unique in Rossini’s oeuvre for its inclusion of the only role, Arsace, that Rossini wrote for the castrato voice. Its tale of tragic defeat and the ultimate nobility and triumph of love in seemingly impossible circumstances is a refined and highly innovative example of his style. Set amidst turbulent times in the Roman Empire, Aureliano in Palmira is packed with sublime arias, duets of haunting beauty (notably the three given to Arsace and Zenobia) and excellent choruses, Rossini himself considering this work as ‘divine music.’ Even after initial success he reused many of its melodies in later operas, most famously in Il barbiere di Siviglia. “Silvia Dalla Benetta… played the role of Zenobia and left no doubt that she was not only the Queen of Palmira, but also the prima donna of this evening! With her crisp, slender timbre and her excellent height she sang tirelessly and with brio. The Roman emperor Aureliano was sung with authority by Juan Francisco Gatell, a tenor with a clear, compact voice and a beautiful legato… Between the extensive list of singers… there is always a disappointment but not this year!”

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Rossini: Aureliano in Palmira / Perez-Sierra, Poznan Camerata Bach Choir, Virtuosi Brunensis
Naxos Sep 2018
CD
~~$35.99~~ $17.99

Rossini: Il barviere di Siviglia
ICA Classics Nov 2011
CD
$26.99

Gioacchino Rossini: Guglielmo Tell
MYTO Historical Jul 2008
CD
$10.99

Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims / Giordano, Fogliani, Virtuosi Brunensis

Naxos

$17.99 ~~$35.99~~ Save 50% Jun 10, 2016

The great writer Stendahl wrote of Il viaggio a Reims that “this opera is a feast”. The plot is a contemporary farce tailor-made for a particular occasion – the coronation festivities of Charles X – though Rossini valued the music so highly that he preserved at least part of the score three years later in the opera Comte Ory. This sparkling work is heard complete for the first time and in accordance with the critical edition.

Review:

Wildbad’s Antonino Fogliani leads a staging that doesn’t hang fire for a moment. The piano-accompanied recitatives are vividly delivered; the performance has a vividness and theatrical ‘carry’ that confirm that Il viaggio is indeed ‘a feast’.

– Gramophone

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Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims / Giordano, Fogliani, Virtuosi Brunensis
Naxos Jun 2016
CD
~~$35.99~~ $17.99

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Mazzola, London Philharmonic [Blu-ray]

Opus Arte

Blu-Ray

$39.99 Jun 23, 2017

The ''sheer visual sophistication'' of Annabel Arden's Barbiere serves ''a triumphant celebration of Rossini's musical genius'', featuring de Niese's ''powerfully sung'' Rosina, Burger's ''gale-force'' Figaro and Stayton's ''pure and mellifluous'' Almaviva - a leading trio ''musically and dramatically beyond compare'' (The Independet - 5 stars). Contributing to the ''ensemble precision'', the rest of the cast includes a ''scene-stealing'' Berta in Kelly, a ''suavely unctuous'' Basilio from Stamboglis and Corbelli's Bartolo, ''an object lesson in comic understatement'' (The Guardian). With Enrique Mazzola at the helm of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, ''the score bubbles along on a Puckish current of merry mischief'' (The Telegraph).

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Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Mazzola, London Philharmonic [Blu-ray]
Opus Arte Jun 2017
Blu-Ray
$39.99

Rossini: Liederabend (Art Song Evening) 1992 / Horne, Katz

SWR

$6.99 ~~$13.99~~ Save 50% Apr 30, 2013

Although Marilyn Horne was 58 years old at the time of this concert, no weakness clouded the beauty of her voice. Among the recordings over the course of Horne's career, there are many Rossini operas. This all-Rossini program shows that she could convincingly dominate the smaller forms as well.

REVIEW:

Little needs be said about Marilyn Horne, one of the greatest singers of all time, with a highly distinctive voice, immediately recognizable and colorful, a deep sense of musicality, and a vocal technique that is awe-inspiring. No ornamentation, no roulade, no trill, not the longest phrase, were beyond her phenomenal breath control. Add to this her almost magical personality.

Liederabend does need a word of explanation. The Liederbands (Liederabenden) were an extensive series of vocal recitals (over 60 years) performed at the Schwetzingen South- West Radio (Germany) Festivals. For all its touting as a Liederabend Horne’s program is all-Italian, all-Rossini (a Horne specialty). 19 songs, early and late, familiar and unfamiliar; all musical delights. Among the better known are ‘La pastorella’, ‘Bolero’, ‘La molinara’, the arias ‘Cruda sorte!’ (Italiana in Algeri and ‘Di tanti palpiti’ Tancredi. A few from ‘Sins of my Old Age’ are included.

Here is a great singer at the top of her form with most entertaining music. No texts, but a biography of Horne and a history of the Festival are included.

-- American Record Guide

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Rossini: Liederabend (Art Song Evening) 1992 / Horne, Katz
SWR Apr 2013
CD
~~$13.99~~ $6.99