The second half of the 18th c. and beyond witnessed the widespread popularity in Germanic and Hapsburg regions of a particular type of wind ensemble of varying forces known as Harmonie. The repertoire consisted of divertissements, cassations, serenades and nocturnes, performed for the most part outdoors, as well as “dining music” played at important banquets, and Harmoniemusik heard at parties and ceremonies. Original pieces were performed together with transcriptions of celebrated works, such as this adaptation by Wenzel Sedlak of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Rossini’s opera overtures discharge a function of decisive importance – that of captivating listeners even before the actual opera action begins. Therefore they are the instrumental highlight of every opera and in their time quickly made their way into the concert halls. In them there are numerous aha-effects such as the unusual horn solo in the first section of the overture of the comic opera Il turco in Italia. The faster part reveals further hallmarks of Rossini’s style: catchy short motifs, loud-quiet contrasts, and question-answer games between the instruments (here, for example, between the woodwind group and the solo trumpet). In the end the concluding crescendo quite literally lifts the listeners out of their seats. And all of this occurs within a quite simple formal structure – but one that functions as a guiding idea. Whether The Barber of Seville, La scala di Seta, or Il signor Bruschino – all of these famous, sparkling opera overtures are dashingly and rousingly performed by I Virtuosi Italiani. A release that you will never forget!

When Rossini’s opera Le Siège de Corinthe was premiered in 1826 in Paris it became a huge success all over Europe. The Rossini Opera Festival presents the opera in a new production from Carlus Padrissa of the Barcelona collective La Fura dels Baus, “which here has one of its most interesting shows” (connessiallopera.it). Artisticly “Roberto Abbado holds the ranks excellently and supports a well-cohesive and balanced cast” (L’ape musicale) “where bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni growled fearsomely as Sultan Mahomet, tenor Sergey Romanovsky as Néoclès matched a warm tone with pinging top notes, and tenor John Irvin was self-assured as Cléomène, but soprano Nino Machaidze as Pamyra thrilled most of all, as she purred effortlessly through pyrotechnic coloratura” (Financial Times).

Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra was a huge success for Rossini helping to establish him as the leading opera composer in Italy. The story revolves around Queen Elizabeth I (Elisabetta), whose romantic attachments expose her to murderous intrigues, and ends with her renouncement of love itself. This Rossini in Wildbad production features soprano Serena Farnocchia in the title role and is conducted by the eminent Rossini specialist Antonino Fogliani.

Rossini's masterpiece Il barbiere di Siviglia is a fast-paced, thrilling opera featuring a lot of popular arias. Staged by Herbert Fritsch as a colourful, turbulent, diversely choreographed piece it is extraordinary musical theater:"A feast for the ears against a colourful backdrop." (DLF Kultur)"With largely sensational musical performances" (Kurier). Juan Diego Floréz"fulfils all expectations of a Rossini singer in a class of his own" (BR Klassik),"witty and vocally profound is Ildar Abdrazakov as Basilio" (Der Standard) while Vasilisa Berzhanskaya"is convincing in her house debut as Rosina." (DLF Kultur)

Rossini’s La donna del lago, premièred in 1819 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, is a masterpiece based on the poem The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott, which is full of passion and romantic frisson. “With characteristic boldness, Michieletto reformulates this glittering music into something otherworldly” (Financial Times) and the performance is “musically brilliant.” (Die Presse.com) “Marko Mimica and Varduhi Abrahamyan produce strong performances as Douglas and Malcom respectively. Flórez is laser like and fresh as ever and thrilling brutish …“ (Financial Times) while the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: “Michele Mariotti and his outstanding orchestra were the stars of the evening.“

Thanks to the overwhelming success of his tenth opera L’italiana in Algeri (1813), the 21-year-old Gioachino Rossini definitively conquered the world stage as the greatest comic opera composer of his time. With this opera, which – in the eyes of Stendhal – “makes you forget all the miseries of the world”, Rossini created a blueprint for his greatest successes. The style showcased in L’italiana is a consummation of eighteenth-century traditions as well as an inspiration for later, Romantic developments, and the humorous events in the story entertain us until this very day. With this live recording made at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in February 2022, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century once again shows its capacity for renewal while respecting its venerable past, which will always be linked to the late Frans Brüggen. With a splendid cast of soloists including Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Ricardo Seguel, Alasdair Kent and Pablo Ruiz, the fine collaboration with La Cetra Vokalensemble Basel and the exquisite conducting of maestro Giancarlo Andretta, this sparkling project will for sure make it into the shelves (and hearts) of many music lovers.

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

Although now Rossini is remembered for his operatic production, his career had begun as a composer of chamber music. In 1804 the 12-year-old Gioachino was invited to spend the summer in the villa of his friend Agostino Triossi in Conventello. This rich landowner, who was an amateur double-bass player, was in the habit of organising concerts and musical gatherings: Rossini composed many instrumental pieces for him. The "Sei sonate a quattro for two violins, cello and double-bass" were composed for one of these occasions.

As Rossini himself related, “They are six horrible sonatas, composed by me during a holiday near Ravenna, in the house of my friend and patron Agostino Triossi, at a more than childish age, when I had not even had a single accompaniment lesson, and the whole thing was composed and copied in three days and performed dreadfully by Triossi, double-bass, Morini (his cousin) first violin, his brother, cello, and the second violin was me, who, to own the truth, was the least dreadful.”

We must not be misled by such a negative opinion. These sonatas, though elementary from a formal point of view, are genuine and quite inspired: the contrast between the brilliant passages and the lyrical/sentimental ones already reveals what a skillful opera composer Rossini was to become.