The Cambridge Companion to Rossini (Cambridge Companions to Music)

This 2004 Companion is a collection of specially commissioned essays on one of the most influential opera composers in the repertoire. The volume is divided into four parts, each exploring an important element of Rossini's life, his world, and his works: biography and reception; words and music; representative operas; and performance. Within these sections accessible chapters, written by a team of specialists, examine Rossini's life and career; the reception of his music in the nineteenth century and today; the librettos and their authors; the dramaturgy of the operas; and Rossini's non-operatic works. Additional chapters centre on key individual operas chosen for their historical importance or position in the present repertoire, and include Tancredi, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Semiramide, and Guillaume Tell. The last section, Performance, focuses on the history of Rossini's operas from the viewpoint of singing and staging, as well as the influence of editorial work on contemporary performance practice. Introduction: Rossini's operatic operas / Emanuele Senici Part I. Biography and Reception: Rossini's life / Richard Osborne Rossini and France / Benjamin Walton The Rossini Renaissance / Charles S. Brauner Part II. Words and Music: Librettos and librettists / Paulo Fabbri Compositional methods / Philip Gossett The dramaturgy of the operas / Marco Beghelli Melody and ornamentation / Damien Colas Off the stage / Richard Osborne Part III. Representative Operas: Tancredi and Semiramide / Heather Hadlock Il barbiere di Siviglia / Janet Johnson Guillaume Tell / Cormac Newark Part IV. Performance: Singing Rossini / Leonella Grasso Caprioli Staging Rossini / Mercedes Viale Ferrero Editing Rossini / Patricia B. Brauner. This collection of specially commissioned essays on one of the most influential opera composers is divided into four parts, each exploring an important element of Rossini's work and his world. Chapters by specialists chart the course of Rossini's life and career through analysis of his reception; operatic texts and non-operatic works; and the individual works: Tancredi, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Semiramide, and Guillaume Tell Biography And Reception -- Words And Music -- Representative Operas -- Performance. Edited By Emanuele Senici. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 250-257) And Index.