Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini is considered one of the most talented Italian composers of his time and is best known for his comic operas. He had his most prolific period between 1810 and 1830, where he wrote some of his masterpieces such as Il barbiere di Siviglia, La cenerentola, Tancredi or Guillaume Tell among his 39 operas. His early retirement from operatic composition at the age of just 37 is surprising, especially given his prolific early output and fame at the time.
Rossini's style and method was criticised and praised in equal measure, but he certainly brought innovation the world of operatic music, such as the establishment of a new fiery and vibrant genre of opera seria and buffa, the consolidation of the structures of operatic arias or the lengthening of concertante finales.
From Napoli, a breeding ground for his classical style, to Paris, where he presided over a dynamic a salon with fellow artists in the Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Rossini left his triumphs and personal mark in each of the cities where he travelled with his music.
