The Overtures of Rossini

The Overtures of Rossini
Author(s): Philip Gossett

Source: 19th-Century Music , Jul., 1979, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul., 1979), pp. 3-31
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3519819
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The Overtures of Rossini
PHILIP GOSSETT
Little did Rossini suspect that many ofnew

Many hisones were invented by avaricious
finest operas would survive through their contemporary
over- publishers, bringing large reve-
tures alone. Master of irony himself, he would a public both avid for Rossini over-
nues from
have smiled at La scala di seta with all but its tures and indifferent as to whether he had ac-
bottom rung lopped off. Supreme parodist, he tually composed them. Music from the opera
would have delighted at the Keystone Cops could easily be adapted to this end. Thus La
scurrying to the strains of Guillaume Tell. But donna del lago and Zelmira regularly sported
irony and parody have darker sides, and Ros- overtures in the nineteenth century, pieced to-
sini might have wondered at the success of a gether from the music of the large ensem-
genre which in his most ambitious works he bles-the Introduzioni-which open these
renounced. His popular overtures (Semiramide operas.' But creating an overture where none
and Guillaume Tell excepted) date from his
early career. Indeed, during his Neapolitan
years, when he exercised fullest control over 'Both the first Breitkopf & Hartel edition of La donna del
the content and production of his operas, he lago (pl. no. 3731, 1823) and the earliest Ricordi edition (pl.
nos. 2892-2907, 1826-27), for example, open with an
avoided formal overtures altogether. "Ouverture" or "Sinfonia," which is simply the first sec-
As a conscientious craftsman, Rossini tion of the Introduzione with the choral parts suppressed.
would have been less amused at the extent to For Zelmira an overture was invented by using the orches-
which his overtures have been misunderstood. tral introduction of the opening chorus and adding a con-
cluding section based on Antenore's cabaletta, "Sorte sec-
ondami." In this form the "overture" was published by
Simrock in Germany (pl. no. 2015, 1823), Lorenzi in Flor-
0148-2076/79/0700-0003 $0.25 ? 1979 by The Regentsence (pl. no. 711, date unknown), and Ratti, Cencetti e
of the University of California. Comp. in Rome (pl. no. 227, 1828).

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19TH
CENTURY
exists is also a modem phenomenon. For the ity. Attributions of overtures to Rossini are ac-
MUSIC centenary of Rossini's death in 1968 an Ital- cepted even though they violate fundamental
ian company issued recordings of all the over- stylistic norms. An overture in Bb major for II
tures.2 Eager for their project to be complete, barbiere di Siviglia, frequently cited, is a
they included all the music played in the or- travesty of Rossinian procedures.4 A Sinfonia
chestra at the beginning of each opera, whether di Odense, recently discovered and printed, is
or not these so-called "overtures" are indepen- filled with peculiarities of phrase structure,
dent compositions. melodic design, and form.5 Even the fairly pop-
In Rossini's operas a precise distinction can ular overture to II viaggio a Reims is suspect.
practically always be made between an orches- One must exercise caution when using stylis-
tral introduction, meaningless when severed tic or formal evidence to investigate problems
from the larger musical unit to which it be- of authenticity: few composers show a mono-
longs, and an independent overture. In two lithic approach to musical forms, and none
operas, L'occasione fa il ladro and Ricciardo e develops in a completely predictable fashion.
Zoraide, Rossini emphasizes the link between But until we perceive better the essence of the
an unusually elaborate orchestral introduction Rossini overture we cannot begin even to de-
and the opening number of the opera by using bate these questions.
the title "Sinfonia e Introduzione."3 Ricciardo This study is in three parts. In part I the
e Zoraide, for example, begins with a tripartite archetypical Rossini overture is defined and il-
instrumental composition: lustrated. Part II focuses on Rossini's early de-
velopment as a composer of overtures, a period
Largo C minor
Marziale C major
during which the archetypical procedures are
Andante F major, modulating to and being formed. In the final section, part III, re-
closing in A minor sults of the preceding investigations are applied
to several overtures of uncertain authenticity
Tonally the piece is open-ended, while for- from this first period.6
mally it seems incoherent. This "Sinfonia e In-
troduzione," however, concludes convincingly
I: THE ARCHETYPICAL ROSSINI OVERTURE
with a reprise of the Marziale passage for
chorus, to the text "Cinti di nuovi allori." To
wrench the orchestral introduction out of this We can define with precision a "typical" Ros-
context is clearly unacceptable. Such invented sini overture. Our archetype is, of course, a
anomalies must necessarily obscure our under- fiction, a composite vision of Rossini's art, a
standing of the Rossini overture. model against which to understand the par-
The consequences are twofold. First, crit- ticularities of individual overtures. Its external
ics seeking to comprehend Rossini's style and
musical development are faced with material
which seems intractable largely because it is
inaccurately conceived. Second, it becomes 4A theme from this overture, which exists in several con-
temporary prints and manuscripts, is reproduced by Her-
impossible to confront problems of authentic- bert Weinstock in his Rossini: A Biography (New York,
1968), p. 414.
5This composition, found in Odense, Denmark, in 1946 by
Povl Ingerslev-Jensen, is described in his "An Unknown
Rossini Overture: Report of a Discovery in Odense," The
2Eight discs and accompanying notes were published by Music Review 11 (1950), 19-22. The source is a group of
Fratelli Fabbri Editori as vols. 67-74 of their series I grandi manuscript orchestral parts of uncertain origin. Despite
musicisti. The unsigned notes, unlike the recordings, are the manifold doubts this piece elicits on both textual and
often quite good. musical grounds, it was published in vol. 8 of the Quaderni
3This title also appears in the autograph of La donna del rossiniani (Pesaro, 1959), pp. 17-65.
lago, but it is vestigial. The orchestral introduction to this 6In the larger study of Rossini's overtures of which this
opera bears the same relation to its opening chorus as do paper is an excerpt, the entire development is traced, and
countless other orchestral introductions to choruses, five distinct periods are defined as paradigmatic for further
whether the choruses are initial segments of an Intro- study of Rossini's music. This comprehensive study of the
duzione, a Coro e Cavatina, or a Finale Primo, or are inde- overtures forms the first chapter of a book in progress, on
pendent numbers. Rossini's operas.

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PHILIP GOSSETT
form is not extraordinary, deriving obviously duction, which serves the harmonic function
Rossini's Overtures
from opera overtures of the late eighteenth of establishing the tonic and then moving to
century. But the clarity of the design, the care- the dominant, prepares a quick main section,
ful adaptation of musical material to specific constructed according to the sonata principle
formal function, and the use of the crescendo of contrasting thematic groups in different
are aspects of Rossini's art which were to exert tonal regions. A simple transition from the ex-
a significant influence on later Italian compos- position to the recapitulation replaces the de-
ers. None of his imitators, however, could hope velopment section, which is traditional in
to match the richness of melody, rhythm, and sonata movements but generally absent in
orchestral detail which characterize the Ros-overtures. When the tonic is a minor key, the
sini overtures. secondary key is its relative major. (See dia-
In the archetypical overture, a slow intro-
gram 1.)
THE ARCHETYPICAL ROSSINI OVERTURE
Slow Introductory Section I-V

Quick Main Section
Exposition: First theme I
Transition I-V of V
Second theme V
Crescendo V
Cadences V
Short Modulation V-V7-I
Recapitulation: First theme I-bVI

Transition bVI-V
Second theme I
Crescendo I
Cadences I
Additional cadences I
Diagram 1
Slow Introductory Section. Beginning his way, as do Paer's La Griselda (1798), La

overtures with a slow introduction, Rossini fol- Camilla (1799), and Agnese (1809), and most of
lowed a practice common among composers of Simone Mayr's operas written after 1800.
Italian opera in the first decade of the These composers could have found models in
nineteenth century. The three-movement Mozart operas (Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte,
overture of earlier eighteenth-century Italian Die Zauberflote) and late Haydn sym-
opera, with its ties to the pre-Classical sym- phonies, not to mention the old Lullian French
phony, could hardly follow developments lead- overture, but the proximate source of their new
ing to the Classical symphony and yet main- practice remains obscure.7
tain proportions appropriate to an overture.
Instead, the concluding movements fell away
and the opening movement alone was allowed
to expand. Many overtures of Cimarosa and 7The problem of the slow introduction in the eighteenth
century, particularly in the works of the Viennese Classical
Paisiello consist of a single quick movement, composers, has been studied by Marianne Danckwardt, Die
as do some of Mozart's (Idomeneo, Le nozze di langsame Einleitung: Ihre Herkunft und ihr Bau bei
Figaro, La clemenza di Tito). At the end of the Haydn und Mozart (Tutzing, 1977). Her rapid glance at
nineteenth-century Italian opera (pp. 298-301), however, is
century it became customary to preface this not very helpful. Somewhat more useful is the general dis-
quick movement with a short slow introduc- cussion of Rossini's overtures in Susanne Steinbeck, Die
tion, perhaps to capture the audience's atten- Ouvertiire in der Zeit von Beethoven bis Wagner: Prob-
leme und Losungen (Miinchen, 1973), but the sheer bulk of
tion. Cimarosa's late operas Penelope (1795) music she attempts to cover precludes her entering into
and Gli Orazi e i Curiazi (1797) begin in this this repertoire with any thoroughness.

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19TH
The slow introduction in a Rossini over- chordal forte brings the slow introduction to a
CENTURY
MUSIC ture consists of three parts. In the first, loudclose (ex. 3). The quick main section of the
orchestral chords are followed by softer pas-overture will supply the anticipated resolution.
sages, or else a soft opening swells to forte. That the slow introduction should contain
These contrasting extreme dynamics are theat- three distinct sections with three diverse func-
rically and psychologically apt: loud passagestions might seem excessive fragmentation of a
impose themselves on a fidgeting audience,short passage, even when occasional motivic
quiet ones demand their closer attention. Therelations, melodic or accompanimental, link
musical content here is motivic and dynamicthese sections. It can be explained partially by
rather than melodic, with constant interplayobserving that in two operas, Aureliano in
among instrumental groups (strings, winds, Palmira and Maometto II (1822), the slow in-
and tutti). Rossini nonetheless organizes his troduction is essentially identical to the orches-
motives into a regular musical phrase with atral passage which opens an important scena
balanced antecedent and consequent. Usinged aria later in the action.8 Within the latter
material which may or may not be motivically genre the fragmented structure of the introduc-
related to the opening phrase, he then proceeds tory orchestral material meets the specific
to a full cadence in the tonic or a related key.compositional requirements of the musical-
The opening of II barbiere di Siviglia is dramatic form. The orchestral introduction
exemplary lex. 1). leads directly to recitative, during the course of
Though Rossini's gift for elegiac melody which the orchestra will interject fragments of
can be overlooked in the swirling motion of his its introduction, following the order of their
energetic passages, the slow introduction of the original presentation. Thematically neutral rec-
archetypical overture is characterized by a lyri- itative may alternate with these orchestral in-
cal second part. One occasionally finds melodicterjections, or more impassioned declamation
outbursts in earlier overtures, to be sure, butmay be superposed on them. In either case the
rarely with the breadth and quasi-vocal charac- fragmented structure of the introduction al-
ter of Rossini's. Melody reigns unencumbered,lows a measure of both coherence and flexibil-
and the orchestra merely curtseys before her. Aity within the recitative. When the same pro-
single wind instrument often emerges into cedures are applied to the overture, however,
prominence, as in the horn solo from II Turcothe internal structural details of the slow in-
in Italia (ex. 2). Whether the lyrical melody ap- troduction are less compelling; we con-
pears in the tonic or in a foreign key (here bIIl), sequently find more pronounced divergencies
it must always then proceed to the domi-here than in any other part of our archetype. In
nant-either directly, as in this example, orparticular, the earliest overtures will be seen to
after a full cadence. In either case the final ele- have only hints of a regular melodic period
ment of the slow introduction stresses the
dominant.
Extended prolongation of the dominant 8In the original version of Maometto II (Naples, 1820),
harmony builds expectations of resolution to which has no overture, the orchestral passage introduces
the scena ed aria of Calbo in Act II. When Rossini added an
the tonic. These are further heightened at the
overture for the Venetian revival of 1822 he incorporated
close of the slow introduction by Rossini's this music verbatim, instructing an associate to copy only
use of short repeated phrases, often with an the list of instruments and the bass line. Rossini's own au-
orchestrated diminuendo (anticipating the or- tograph begins at the quick main section of the overture.
This incomplete appearance of the score has confused
chestrated crescendo to come in the main part many critics, and one still reads occasionally that the over-
of the overture). In the following example from ture to the 1822 Maometto II was never finished.
Torvaldo e Dorliska, a two-measure phrase is The autograph manuscript of Aureliano in Palmira has
not been found, but the orchestral passage which in the
played twice (2 x 2), followed by a half-measure opera introduces the Gran scena of Arsace in Act II was
motive played four times (4 x '/2), each time surely written before the overture which quotes it. In this
descending in register and volume. Through- case, however, the original autograph of the overture must
also have included the slow introduction in Rossini's hand.
out, the music remains poised on the domi- Not only is the overture in a different key, but there are
nant, maintaining suspense, until a renewed also numerous other variants between the two passages.

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Tutti Tutti PHILIP GOSSETT
winds strs. winds Rossini's Overtures
i I strs., bsn. AI strs., bsn. _
\
we~ .. 73i ] _ _
f 'pp "- c= / ....p'
_g~r~i . - ..... IIi I o

i 9 . ob i w 1^ I ', 1]. '1~ \-
ob ' .hn.
Example 1
hn.
do7ce
dolce
">01 f
cresc.
Example 2
4$*2- s ot~r \t Z v r -nau . j

Q l 1SJ8i pt4^^ q s| Ei1pqy 1 17pSs pS
Example 3
within the introduction, while later overtures structed of symmetrical, balanced phrases. As
expand the melodic period at the expense and Rossini's style develops, however, this sym-
even to the exclusion of motivic phrases and metrical structure begins to be distorted; in-
formulas. deed, the extent of the distortion is practically
a linear function of chronology. Elements of
Quick Main Section. Although it is unfash- the period are expanded, cadences are added to
ionable to describe sonata-form movements as achieve greater rhythmic activity at the close,
having two "themes," such a description is ap-and transitions between phrases are intro-
propriate for the main section of a Rossini duced, often occasioned by the appearance of
overture, where single, closed, coherent more remote key areas within the period. A
periods characterize the tonic and dominant moderately advanced example is the first
regions. In the archetypical overture strings theme from Sigismondo, used again with mod-
present the first theme and solo winds the sec- ifications in Otello, where a basic sixteen-
ond. The first theme is motivically conceived, measure period of scalar triplets is forcibly re-
with scalar patterns predominating, and con- strained after the fourth and eighth measures

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19TH
(ex. 4). Held notes suspend the motion, and Matilde Rossini introduces as a new second
CENTURY
MUSIC rests with fermatas prolong the rhythmic dis- theme a melody taken from the Finale Primo,
tortion. At the third phrase, which parallels the thereby providing a point of reference between
first, the music is allowed to rush forward overture and opera. Substitutions within a
freely, encouraged by added wind chords, and specific thematic slot are possible, then, but
the conclusion of the period is given further the significant differences in character between
rhythmic impetus by the cadential extension first and second themes preclude interchanges
and its concomitant crescendo. between them in our archetypical overture.
The second, lyrical theme played by the The transition linking the two themes
winds is rarely subjected to internal distortion.fulfills its classical function: modulating from
Added dimension is achieved simply by repeat- the tonic to the secondary key by arriving at
ing it with different instrumental color. The and prolonging the dominant of the new tonal-
contrast between a more motivic, structurally ity. The transition is immediately set off from
freer opening theme for strings and a more lyri-the first theme by volume (it is attacked fortis-
cal, symmetrical second theme for winds paral-simo), orchestration (it is scored for full or-
lels a functional division already observed inchestra), and phrase structure. Whereas the
the slow introduction. Even within these themes are built from balanced phrases form-
limited contexts it exposes two facets ofing Ros-
a larger, coherent period, here a single short
sini's art. phrase, usually of four measures, is repeated
That themes in Rossini's overtures can be four or more times. Each statement is directed
isolated from their surroundings, occupy im- to a new harmonic goal, obscuring the original
mutable positions in the scheme of the over- tonality and leading to the secondary key or its
ture, and maintain definite structural proper-
dominant. Should this progression lead directly
to the secondary key, Rossini continues to the
ties internally suggests that specific thematic
slots within an overture might accommodate new dominant so as better to prepare the sec-
substitute periods without excessive damage ondary
to tonal region. Poised on the dominant,
the whole. There are several examples of suchhe prolongs it with short, repeated phrases. The
substitutions among Rossini's works. Thevolume decreases as the orchestra, which had
overtures of II Turco in Italia (1814), Sigis-
played together for the transition, again sepa-
rates into component families. Finally the
mondo (1814), and Otello (1816) form a single,
interrelated complex. Sigismondo and Otello music slips into the secondary key and the sec-
ond theme.
are particularly close, although the latter is re-
worked and reorchestrated. A principal change La gazza ladra provides a good example
is the introduction of a new second theme, re-(ex. 5). The modulation consists of a fourfold
placing one which in Sigismondo also appears repetition of the initial phrase, moving from E
as an orchestral motive in the quartet "Genitormajor to B major to E minor to D major and
... deh vien!" The substitution was obligatory then to G major, the secondary key. A new
because Rossini had employed the theme from four-measure phrase leads to the dominant, D
Sigismondo in his first Neapolitan opera,major, and is repeated there in varied form.
Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (1815), within Another motivically related four-measure
the Finale Primo. His Neapolitan audience for phrase, over a D pedal, features a melodic line
Otello would have recognized the melody im- which rises an octave, immediately followed
mediately, and Rossini was usually wise by a similar phrase falling an octave. Irrelevant
enough to limit his self-borrowing to works to our archetype but not to Rossini's artistry is
having premieres in different cities. Aestheti-the way this second pair of phrases contracts
cally, however, both second themes are per- the intervallic structure of the first pair, reduc-
fectly acceptable, and the substitution is im- ing a varied pattern to a scalar one. A pair of
perceptible. A similar situation occurs intwo-measure phrases over the dominant con-
Matilde di Shabran, whose overture was tinues this process, restricting the intervals
written originally for Eduardo e Cristina. In further, until a final phrase achieves the
even

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Allegro PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
pp ' ? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ? A
L g s t , y I ; I IL-W_
cresc. rinforz. ff
Example 4
Tutti
AI ri
Af r ' T ; . r
v-^rrr I
?1
9? _+_le-t
qI ,].
I J 7, strs s f^
_ =J4o:
6 $o':'~"U' ~ t . ; '~ '. ; ' ~ . ~ '
{iW ^f.
ff RD
low winds ob.
dolce
dolce
Example 5

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19TH
CENTURY ultimate reduction, a repetition of the pitch D, dent from I to V and in the consequent back
MUSIC fortissimo for the entire orchestra, then pianis- from V to I; it does not introduce other chords
simo for strings alone. This melodic reduction, and never establishes a cadential harmonic pat-
while not affecting the rhythmic impulse of tern, such as I-IV-V-I. As phrase length de-
the music, leaves it thematically neutral. The creases, the harmonies alternate more rapidly,
lower winds now erase the rhythmic force as but we still do not perceive the crescendo as
well, suspending all motion on a dominant strongly cadential. It functions instead practi-
chord which slowly resolves to the new tonic. cally as a tonic pedal. This very impression of
Thus effectively prepared, the second theme stasis, though, permits Rossini to manipulate
can emerge resplendent. other musical elements simultaneously.
The lyrical interlude provided by the sec- An increase in dynamics and an accretion
ond theme lasts but a moment, to be followed of instruments further intensify the crescendo.
directly by a "Rossini crescendo." This infa- Changes in dynamic markings and additions of
mous device has attracted more attention than instrumental parts are not made haphazardly,
any other aspect of Rossini's music-a dubious of course, but follow the dictates of phrase
distinction: and what is worse, its unique qual- structure; changes occur at regular junctions,
ities have rarely been demonstrated. For some, either between phrases or at symmetrical
the presence of the familiar hairpin or the word points within them. Register too enters into
"crescendo" is sufficient cause to invoke the the crescendo. As the dynamic level increases,
term.9 But a Rossini crescendo is not any in- instruments appear in ever more brilliant
tensification of volume over any number of registers.
measures, irrespective of harmonic support, The crescendo from Maometto II (1822)
phrase structure, or formal position. We fail to nicely exemplifies these characteristics (ex. 6).
recognize its salient characteristics when we The central theme, played three times, is an
lump together all forms of intensification of eight-measure antecedent-consequent phrase,
volume and seek thereby to prove the variety of the first half on I moving to V, the second on V
Rossini's crescendos. They are essentially returning to I. It is followed by a one-measure
alike, all of them. continuation, also alternating I and V, played
Within the overture, Rossini invariably four times. Register is used to enhance the ef-
places the crescendo between the second fect, as are instrumental entries: the first
theme and the cadence section, and except for statement of the theme is for strings, clarinets,
key and details of orchestration it is identical horns, bassoons, and tamburo, the second adds
in the exposition and recapitulation. The cen- oboes, trumpets, and timpani, and the third
tral element is a single antecedent-consequent adds flutes and gran cassa, providing, fur-
phrase of four, eight, or sixteen measures, thermore, an independent part for cellos,
repeated three times. It can be followed bywhich have hitherto played together with the
shorter, related phrases of two, one, or one-half contrabass. Dynamic markings also articulate
measures, each repeated two, three, or four the structure: p, cresc., f, ff, and finally tutta
times, with more continuous rhythmic activ- forza, with the discrete levels placed at cru-
ity. Phrase length decreases from one element cial points, though the effect of the crescendo
of the crescendo to the next so that phrases should be continuous. Rossini carefully avoids
renew themselves more quickly and the har- writing cresc. at the beginning of the cre-
monic rhythm accelerates. In a typical crescendo, and a proper interpretation demands
scendo the central phrase moves in the antece- that the volume be held steady at piano until
the word actually appears. Indeed, the effec-
9A classical misstatement is Ada Melica's "I1 crescendo" in
tiveness of such a passage depends entirely on
the Bollettino del centro rossiniano di studi, Anno 1957, how well a conductor can create the expecta-
no. 5, 84-87. Even a more perceptive critic, Luigi Rognoni, tion of increased sonority without arriving
Gioacchino Rossini, 3rd edn. (Turin, 1977), p. 182, con- prematurely at tutta forza.
fuses matters when he claims that Rossini's overtures
often conclude with "un secondo piu folgorante 'cre- The facile Rossini crescendo, then, is a
scendo'." rather sophisticated manipulation of harmonic
10

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
PHILIP GOSSETT
IC _ Rossini's Overtures
"p
.'.. . Jf,JJ 'r ~'-L4 . . f..- .. i' ' i4 I . f. .. r l i'A
l , . , r; iL.r :. .. ~r XI I I I l I
cresc.
~ .... ~ It$t .,l,.,., 3 I !t Si!I!

*f * * * * @ @
tutta
ff
forza
Example 6
rhythm, phrase structure, melodic design, reg- in Semiramide whose cadences can be repre-
ister, dynamics, and instrumentation, carefully sented as 2x8+2x2+4x'/2. They are
controlled to produce the maximum effect. In uniformly loud throughout, but Rossini nicely
operas by Rossini's immediate predecessors, balances the winds versus the full orchestra in
his characteristic juxtaposition of these various the two-measure cadence (ex. 7: see page 13). It
elements is not found, although passages with should be added that repeated phrases of de-
increasing volume are hardly unique to Ros- creasing length are a feature of most Rossini
sini.10 In its context, the Rossini crescendo re- cadential passages, and are not reserved for
mains enormously exciting, and scarcely an overtures.
opera by Donizetti, Bellini, or the young Verdi The brief section leading to the recapitula-
does not emulate Rossini's design. tion does little more than prepare harmonically
The cadence section which follows the for the return of the original tonic. In Tancredi
the orchestra merely plays two measures of
crescendo, closing the exposition, shares one
chords on the tonic of the secondary key, A
characteristic with it: the use of several ele-
ments of progressively shorter length and major, the dominant, to the last of which the
correspondingly quicker harmonic rhythm, seventh is added. The resulting dominant
seventh chord proceeds immediately to the re-
each of which is repeated. Neither register,
capitulation. I1 barbiere di Siviglia has a direct,
dynamics, nor instrumentation is significantly
four-measure
varied, however, and phrases are constructed as modulation for strings alone
full cadences, not as simple alternations of from G major back to the tonic, E minor. Other
operas provide slightly longer passages, some-
tonic and dominant. A typical example is found
times anticipating the expected first theme (as
in Semiramide), but in the archetypical over-
1OSee, for example, the description of a Mayr crescendo ture
by little compositional energy is expended on
Ludwig Schiedermair, in his Beitrdge zur Geschichte derthis section. Symphonic development is not a
Oper um die Wende des 18. und 19. Jahrh. (Simon Mayr), 2
characteristic strength of Rossini's style.
vols. (Leipzig, 1907, 1910), I, 101-02. The more Schieder-
mair describes Mayr's "crescendo" the more different it Nor did Rossini labor over his recapitula-
seems from the Rossini archetype. tions. The first theme is reproduced literally
11

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CENTURY (although in a few instances it is truncated). phrase of the transition in the exposition. Be-
MUSIC The second theme and crescendo are trans- ginning on bVI, to which a typical deceptive
posed to the tonic, which sometimes occasions
cadence at the end of the first theme has led,
alterations in the orchestration. One section,
the transition proceeds to 16, then to the minor
though, is especially vulnerable to change:subdominant-but
the after two more measures
transition. This section is always prob-
the fragment breaks off. On the discarde
lematical in a sonata-form movement, since in
bifolio Rossini surely continued the pattern
the recapitulation, where all thematic material arriving finally at V of I. The prolongation o
is presented in the tonic, a transition has this
nodominant and return to the tonic for the
inherent harmonic function. The archetype second theme would have been identical, ex-
here divides into two families, independent offor key, to the parallel exposition passage.
cept
chronology. In the first, Rossini concludesThe thecomposer's decision to omit the transition
opening theme with a deceptive cadence to
entirely in the recapitulation of II Turco in
bVI, adapts the exposition transition for useItalia
in probably reflects its length in the exposi-
the recapitulation, and arrives at V of I insteadtion. Following the phrase in question (ex. 8)
of V of V. In the second he cuts out the transi- through another five modulating notches must
tion entirely, proceeding directly from the firsthave seemed daunting even to its inventor.
theme (which may be truncated) to the tonicAfter the second theme and crescendo are
statement of the second theme. stated in the tonic, the recapitulation closes
That the transition in the recapitulation iswith the cadential passage. Here, too, there are
an optional feature of the archetypical over-diverging branches of our archetype, and again
ture, and that Rossini feels he can eliminate itchronology is not a factor. Generally, Rossini
entirely, if he chooses, is apparent from an in- repeats the exposition cadence, adding addi-
teresting episode in the history of the overture tional cadences or a tonic prolongation at the
to II Turco in Italia. In all printed and manu- end. But in the other branch he ignores the ex-
script sources of this overture, the second themeposition and introduces entirely new cadential
follows the first theme in the recapitulation material. These newly composed concluding
without transition. The transition in the ex-
tonic cadences usually have much the same
position corresponds in every way to the ar-structure as a typical exposition cadence, but
chetype, although it is among the longest the initial phrase is longer and a final prolonga-
found in Rossini's overtures. A four-measure tion of the tonic is added. Both modifications are
phrase is played five times, modulating from clearly appropriate to the final moments of an
the tonic, D major, through A7, D7, B major, E overture. II barbiere di Siviglia, with which we
major, to F major as bVI, where an additional began consideration of the archetypical Rossini
four measures establish E major as V. The pro- overture, closes in an equally regular fashion
longation of this new dominant can be ex- (ex. 9). After a simple, repeated two-measure
pressed as 2 x 6 + 4 x 2 + 2 x 2. After a fer- tonic cadence, the music continues with a
mata, four additional measures lead to the new chromatic passage in contrary motion, arriving
key, A major. Rossini's autograph, located in sforzando at bVI (C major), which gradually re-
the Archives of Casa Ricordi in Milan, reveals solves to the tonic. Rossini delights in coloring
that he originally prepared a transition for the cadential phrases with unexpected harmonies;
recapitulation as well. Ten measures are still indeed, familiarity with his style leads us to
visible, although crossed out; the remainder expect them.
was on a bifolio removed early in the history of Just as the slow introduction of I1 barbiere
the opera, but not before the bifolios of the di Siviglia originated within the opera for
overture were numbered consecutively in the which the overture was written, Aureliano in
upper left-hand comer, as was Rossini's cus- Palmira, so too these final cadences served
tom. The lost bifolio bore the number "10." first, in slightly different garb, to conclude Au-
The surviving, crossed-out measures are reliano's Finale Primo. Indeed, many elements
built around the four-measure modulating described here as archetypical features of Ros-
12

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PHILIP GOSSETT
A ^ S Rossini's Overtures
z7? c "U H u LJr M LLmU
*g4 ^ Al11, Li I P
Tutti
winds
2i 0.^,,^fflrrs^^fl . .-. _ ....

9:?, A ,^,t -or , x9 .
Example 7
r"?il11 I m7I rn Im
Example 8
ff 1 r' n . I -1
sf> simil.
J; .-I:I
^..ti~. . . K..' - 1-1: I?

*?r * {
s$ H 1e1 M FH _ a1
Example 9
sini's overtures surface again in the operas quirements of different genres-the aria,
themselves. Finding such stylistic continuity duet, ensemble, and finale-prove significant
should hardly surprise us, but Rossini's charac- both to an understanding of the composer him-
teristic and ingenious ways of adapting stylis- self and of his influence on nineteenth-century
tic and structural norms to the various re- Italian opera.
13

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19TH II: THE OVERTURES OF ROSSINI'S FIRST PERIOD overtures is given in table 1. Each of the nine
CENTURY
MUSIC operas has an overture, except L'occasione fa
Defining an archetype of this kind, whileilaladro, where a standard slow introduction
harmless and amusing activity in itself, is truly
prefaces an orchestral Tempesta, which leads
in tur directly to the Introduzione. Since a
valuable only in proportion to the insight it af-
fords when we consider actual music. By estab- storm is actually raging as the opera begins,
lishing the archetypical Rossini overture wemotives from the Tempesta can recur to link
open two important paths for further investiga-
the "Sinfonia e Introduzione." Two overtures,
tion. First, we gain a model against whichwell
to known to students of Rossini's music, are
view Rossini's compositional development.
works written at the Conservatory in Bologna:
With variants from the archetype arranged one (the Sinfonia in Eb of 1809) became the
chronologically, we can then test attributions
overture to La cambiale di matrimonio, Ros-
of dubious pedigree, confident that problems sini's
of first performed opera, while a theme
authenticity can begin to be resolved. from the other (the Sinfonia in D of 1808) was
Rossini's overtures fall chronologically reused in his overture to L'inganno felice. At
least five operas have overtures written ex-
into five groups, corresponding to the principal
periods of his operatic career. No periodization
pressly for them (Demetrio e Polibio, L'inganno
is ever absolute, of course, and the chrono- felice, La scala di seta, La pietra del paragone,
logical models are as provisional as structural
and II signor Bruschino). An alternative over-
archetypes. This particular division, however,ture exists in some sources for La scala di seta,
reflects well Rossini's developing approach however,
to which will be examined in part III.
the overture, and proves equally fruitful for The
a overture to L'inganno felice was reused
consideration of other aspects of his operas. two months after the premiere of that opera in
Rossini's next work for the stage, Ciro in
Seen through the perspective of an idealized ar-
chetype, Rossini's enormous artistic growth Babilonia, presumably due to intolerable pres-
during the twenty years from Demetriosures e of time. The case of L'equivoco stra-
Polibio to Guillaume Tell can be fully ap- vagante, for which several different overtures
preciated. Here, however, we can consider only are found among contemporary sources, will
his first period. also be considered in part III.
Rossini divided his earliest career between Of particular interest are the two sinfonie
Bologna, as a Conservatory student and assis-in D, "al Conventello" and "obbligata a con-
tant at the Teatro Communale, and Venice, as trabasso." They were recently discovered in
a fledgling composer writing one-act farse for manuscript copies (not autographs) at the Is-
the Teatro San Mose. This small, experimental tituto Musicale 'G. Verdi' of Ravenna by the
theater offered Rossini and other composers ofItalian musicologist Paolo Fabbri.11 Both these
his generation, such as Pietro Generali and
works will be examined in part III. The present
Carlo Coccia, the opportunity to write anddiscussion focuses on overtures whose authen-
mount short operas without the emotional ticity is unquestioned.
burdens and financial risks of composing for a The early overtures, thematically and pro-
major house. The experience was invaluable to grammatically independent of the operas they
a young aspirant even if his opera failed to introduce, demonstrate Rossini's striving to-
please. Fully five of Rossini's early operas were ward a personal compositional identity. Ele-
prepared for the San Mose, works clearly dem-
onstrating his youthful skill. These Venetian
successes generated a major commission (for"Fabbri announces his discovery in an important article
the Teatro alla Scala of Milan), La pietra delappearing now in the Bollettino del centro rossiniano di
paragone, whose resounding acclaim guaran-studi, "Presenze rossiniane negli archivi ravennati: due in-
teed Rossini a steady supply of future commis-editi, un autografo ed altro." I wish to thank Dottor Bruno
Cagli, artistic director of the Fondazione Rossini, for bring-
sions.
ing this material to my attention and supplying facsimiles
A summary account of Rossini's early of the manuscripts.
14

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OVERTURES OF THE FIRST PERIOD: THE EARLY OPERAS AND FARSE (1808-1813) PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
OPERA OVERTURE DATE COMMENT
Sinfonia "al Conventello" in D 1806-07(?) First theme reused in II signor Bruschino (1813); se
part II of this study.
Demetrio e Polibio in C 1806-08(?)
Sinfonia in D 1808 Second theme reused in L'inganno felice (1812).
Sinfonia in Eb 1809 Reused with alterations in La cambiale di matri-

monio (1810) and also, in the latter version, in
Adelaide di Borgogna (1817).
Sinfonia "obbligata a contrabasso" in D 1807-10(?) Authentic? see part III of this study.
La cambiale di matrimonio borrowed 1810 Uses the Sinfonia in Eb with some alterations.
L'equivoco stravagante uncertain 1811 See part mI of this study, and Table 2.
L'inganno felice in D 1812 Second theme taken from the Sinfonia in D (1808).
Overture reused without change in Ciro in Babilonia
(1812).
Ciro in Babilonia borrowed 1812 Uses the overture of L'inganno felice.
La scala di seta in C 1812 See part III of this study.
La pietra del paragone in D 1812 Reused without change in Tancredi (1813).
L'occasione fa il ladro not a closed 1812 A "Sinfonia e Introduzione," continuing directly

overture from the orchestral opening to the Introduzione.
I1 signor Bruschino in D 1813 First theme taken from the Sinfonia

"al Conventello"
Table 1
ments of the archetypical structure gradually V7 of V to V is particularly nice (ex. 10a, page
cohere. By La pietra del paragone every section 17). An appropriate four-measure phrase begins
is externally in place, while most have also the transition, but it leads from I back to I.
achieved their characteristic internal form. ButWe now anticipate moving away from the tonic,
working within still flexible constraints, Ros- but instead the phrase is repeated without
sini created outstanding overtures, such as La harmonic change. Selecting part of this phrase,
scala di seta and II signor Bruschino, whose Rossini then continues to vi, to IV, and finally,
singularities of structure are part of their either in ignorance or in childish revolt, to V of
natural appeal. ... I. He prolongs this dominant to arrive at the
In his very earliest overtures, however, second theme presented in the original tonic,
Demetrio e Polibio and the two Bolognese sin- Eb major (ex. 10b). Yet another theme is pre-
fonie, Rossini struggles with a form he has not sented (twice) in Eb major, an eight-measure
mastered. So structurally flawed is the Sinfonia phrase featuring the horn, resembling in struc-
in Eb that the composer's efforts to revise it for ture a crescendo but not so treated in dynamics
La cambiale di matrimonio created new prob- or orchestration (ex. 10c). In the original ver-
lems as formidable as the old. One understandssion eight additional measures on the tonic,
his apparent fondness for the piece, since thecut in the revision, closed this pseudo-second
thematic material is appealing and fresh, butgroup.
the structure of the quick main section re- One wants to believe that Rossini had pre-
cise artistic aims in assigning what appears
mains incoherent in both versions. The first
theme is a simple sixteen-measure period,
thematically to be a second group to the origi-
whose opening harmonic motion in two- nal tonic, but comparison of the differing con-
measure segments from V7 to I and then from
sequences of this structural abnormality in the
15

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19TH two versions precludes this assumption. In the
CENTURY this piece he seems to have found unaccept-
MUSIC original version the transition material
able. Tonow re-
salvage the situation the publisher-
turns and modulates to the correct secondary
composer had Rossini's overture regularized.
key, Bb major, where Rossini presents secondwas straightened out, the sec-
The transition
theme, crescendo-like phrase, andond theme
eight was recast, and, most important, a
addi-
tional measures, thus repeating thenew, "correct"
entire sec- recapitulation was substituted
ond group in its "correct" key. None oforiginal.
for the this Diabelli's publication stands as
an amusing act
material recurs at all in the recapitulation, so of academic criticism, foisted
on a youthful
that after the second group has appeared twice overture which badly needed the
in the exposition, first in I, then inred
V, pencil of Padre Mattei, Rossini's composi-
it never
appears again. Unhappy with this tion teacherof
flouting at the Bologna Liceo Musicale.
the sonata principle, perhaps, for LaBycambiale
1812, with the overture to L'inganno
felice,
di matrimonio Rossini recapitulates the the essential outlines of the archetype
sec-
are present,
ond theme and the crescendo-like phrase in thethough some details remain primi-
tive. are
tonic (the eight additional measures Least cut
well defined is the slow introduc-
throughout). Rather than presenttion. theL'inganno
entire felice, in which the develop-
second group three times, he decidesment toof an
ab-opening antecedent-consequent
breviate one of the exposition statements;
phrase leads but
directly to the dominant prolonga-
tion, lacks
instead of cutting anything in the initial tonican internal lyrical period. In La
appearance, he eliminates the crescendo-like
pietra del paragone there is a section with the
phrase in the dominant. This phrase functionconse-
of a lyrical period, a moment of re-
spite
quently never appears in any key but thebetween the opening phrase and the dom-
tonic,
inant prolongation,
even though it belongs unquestionably to the but the characteristic
second group. These manipulations lay
melodic bare
quality is not present. Instead, delicate
a composer unsure of himself andimitative
grappling,
passages in the winds are highlighted
not always successfully, with problems of string accompaniment. Both
over a pizzicato
formal structure. That the overtureLa
nonethe-
scala di seta and I1 signor Bruschino are
less succeeds in some respects is amore
tribute
than a to
little unusual, as we shall see. In-
Rossini's melodic and rhythmic gifts, deed,
but although
these it does not preface a regular
gifts desperately needed to be harnessed. overture, the slow introduction to L'occasione
Not only the modern critic findsfathe il ladro is closest to the archetype among
struc-
ture of Rossini's earliest overturesthese suspect. In
early works.
the 1820s the Viennese firm of A. Diabelli et Once the main section begins, every ele-
Comp. published a piano reduction of the over- ment of these overtures is in its proper place.
ture to Demetrio e Polibio.12 This overture is The thematic groups are distinctly formed, al-
structurally even stranger than the Sinfonia inthough first themes are not quite as sharply dif-
Eb. Some problems are minor-the irregular
ferentiated from second themes as they ulti-
transition, the long, rambling, unbalanced sec-mately will become, while transitions and
ond theme, the awkward attempt at a de- crescendos are still developing their charac-
velopment section. But the major difficultyteristic
is shapes. In L'inganno felice the transi-
that Rossini seems committed to avoiding tion
a begins with an appropriate four-measure
regular recapitulation at whatever the cost.
phrase, which promptly returns to the tonic
Diabelli was prepared to publish almost any
and is repeated there, as in the Sinfonia in
Rossini overture for the hungry Viennese, butEb; a new two-measure idea continues to
emphasize I, but its repetition finally veers off
toward vi. Unlike the earlier overture, L'in-
ganno felice now continues properly to V of V,
12A copy of this print (pl. no. D. et C. n?. 466) is found in using material reminiscent of but not identical
the
Bavarian National Library in Munich (4? Mus. pr. 36860). to the opening four-measure phrase (ex. 11).
This Diabelli version is unique; other publishers, including
Both the character of the thematic material and
Steiner in Vienna, Ricordi, etc., issued piano reductions of
the original version. the harmonic goal are correct; only the internal
16

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a.
PHILIP GOSSETT
LA 2 1o fI rh b I , f, F I I I1 I Rossini's Overtures
- fUif
SbbV FNlH; if I f
:sI: MS1 I
b.
B L1 g itâ btff1L 6 I* i^rgg etc. etc.
C.
Example 10
1?f, LUfiTBc I4Eri

ffs I
// - /) x/ __ i
Example 11
shape so characteristic of Rossini's mature overture with a standard transition will repeat
transitions remains absent. Neither the pro- the opening phrase at least four or even five
longation of V of V nor the resolution to the times. These early overtures, then, are partly
main tonic deviates from the archetype. characterized by the relatively smaller propor-
In each of the other overtures, La scala di tions of their transitions.
seta, La pietra del paragone, and II signor Brus- Smaller proportions typify also the cre-
chino, the opening transition idea is played scendos. In L'inganno felice, the first overture to
three times and functions correctly as a mod- have a proper crescendo, a two-measure mod-
ulating phrase. La pietra del paragone, excep- ule is played three times, followed by a half-
tionally, adopts a six-measure phrase, but measure continuation played four times (3 x 2
employs it in a standard fashion to move first + 4 x 1/2). Perhaps because of this crescendo's
from I to I, then from I to vi, and finally from vi brevity Rossini inserts another passage be-
to V of V, which is prolonged until the second tween the second theme and the crescendo,
theme begins. After II signor Bruschino every 2 x 2, which remains pianissimo throughout.
17

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19TH It is rather like a crescendo in style, but instead
CENTURY
La scala di seta opens with a few quick
MUSIC of alternating between I and V, this "pre- measures, violins and violas racing down the
crescendo" alternates between I and IV (ex. 12).
scale to a tonic chord played by the entire or-
In La scala di seta the pre-crescendo is ex-
chestra. Now the wind band, a flute, two oboes,
panded to 2 x 4 (I-IV-I), while the crescendotwo clarinets, two horns, and a bassoon, sepa-
has three elements: 4 x 2 + 2 x 1 + 4 x /2 rates itself and unveils an Andantino introduc-
(each proceeding I-V-I). Rossini continues towithout strings. It is a beautiful passage,
tion
use pre-crescendos alternating between constantly
tonic varied in texture by Rossini's care
and subdominant in two of his next three over- to assign solos in turn to oboe, flute, and horn
tures, II signor Bruschino and L'Italiana in Al- (ex. 14). The introduction seems to approach a
geri, even though the main crescendo phrase is full cadence in the tonic, but at the last mo-
expanded to the standard four measures. In La ment the winds repeat and sustain a dominant
pietra del paragone, however, he abandons the seventh chord. Instead of resolving the disso-
pre-crescendo, and after L'Italiana it is never nance Rossini begins the first theme of the
employed again, although a memory of it exists quick section still on the dominant, played by
in Aureliano in Palmira, the future overture first violins alone. Only when the other strings
to II barbiere di Siviglia. Here the pre-cre- enter with a pizzicato accompaniment does the
scendo theme (2 x 4) has the harmonic struc- tonic appear. The theme is in constant motion.
ture I-V-I. It shows no dynamic intensifica- Although its main element is essentially six
tion, though it does add new instruments for measures long, extended upbeats and transi-
the repetition. The main theme of the cre- tions perpetually dance the phrase structure
scendo proper (3 x 4 + 4 x 1) differentiates it-away from regularity. The antecedent closes in
self harmonically from the pre-crescendo by al- V, the consequent moves towards I but stops
ternating tonic and dominant more rapidly (ex. short before the resolution, as at the end of the
13). This is, indeed, the only crescendo theme slow introduction. Again poised on V, Rossini
among the overtures to introduce so many repeats the entire theme for winds alone, led by
harmonic changes internally. Surely the rela- the solo oboe (ex. 15). Finally it does resolve to
tionship between this theme and its pre- the tonic as the transition begins; the extended
crescendo is responsible for Rossini's proce-
phrase, avoided cadences, and separation of
dure here. the instrumental groups make this resolution
Written before the archetype had fully con- with full orchestra welcome indeed. Concer-
gealed, the early overtures occasionally diverge tante use of the wind instruments continues
from it markedly. Several, including Demetrio throughout the overture, in the second theme,
e Polibio, the Sinfonia in D (1808), and La scala "pre-crescendo," and development section, giv-
di seta, have development sections. Rossini's ing the entire piece a wonderful feeling of
technique in them is simplistic, largely limited lightness and grace.
to stating the second theme in a foreign key. Fifty years after the great Rossini biog-
He learned to avoid this redundancy by sup- rapher Giuseppe Radiciotti destroyed the myth
pressing development sections altogether. of II signor Bruschino's being a jest at the ex-
More positively, Rossini's experiments re- pense of the impresario,13 the story regrettably
sulted in two of his loveliest overtures, La scala continues to circulate, doubly regrettable be-
di seta and II signor Bruschino. Each ap- cause this is perhaps the best of Rossini's early
proaches the mature archetype, but is further farse-comic, witty, and sentimental by turns.
dominated by a unique musical idea: in La The tapping bows in the overture are delight-
scala di seta the characteristic use of the wind ful, both for the novelty of the idea and for the
ensemble as a concertante, in I1 signor Brus- natural and logical way the effect is woven into
chino the wonderful and absurd effect of vio-
lins tapping their bows rhythmically against
13Radiciotti recounts the history in his Gioacchino Ros-
the metal shades of their candle-holders, or sini: vita documentata, opere ed influenza su l'arte, 3 vols.
(less authentically) against their music stands. (Tivoli, 1927-29), I, 88-95.
18

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PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
f^ ^yEfflifv tjff I + I I z^ L l l l
cresc. rinforzando ff
Example 12
a.
fdolceTtiffffr Itr
dolce
b.
A4 * * * ::- _i
' I ;'-4t ' [ ' * I I I
v
r
Example 13
fl.
Example 14
v.l
lower strs., pizzicato

ob.
ii
l11':.L..
L?. ~ ~ ,I:
? _
|- $ fetc.
Example 15
19

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C9NTURY
the composition. There is an introduction, but
CENTURY inevitable uncertainties; no matter how much
MUSIC it is not slow. Instead, the overture we is attacked
refine our tools, unequivocal statements of
Allegro with a theme more sharply etched
attribution on stylistic grounds will always be
rhythmically than melodically, moving logically
fromimpossible.
V The behavior of human
of ii to ii, then repeated a step lower beings, especially
to close on composers, is not fully pre-
the tonic. The ensuing idea is rhythmically dictable. Yet neither is the weather, neither is
analogous (ex. 16). It develops into a the fullmotion
period,of elementary particles under ob-
ultimately settling on V. The prolongation servation,ofneither
V are the vagaries of the na-
tional
uses melodic figures based on the economy. We must seek a middle
opening
theme, but also reduces that theme to its ground between those who are only too ready
rhythmic component alone by means of the to accept an attribution because "it sounds
tapping bows (ex. 17). The main section of the like" a composer, and those who categorically
overture, which preserves the same tempo, is refuse to accept stylistic evidence as a deter-
thoroughly standard in construction, but each mining factor for the attribution of a work.
time a dominant harmony is prolonged to pre- Documentary evidence may indeed seem
pare a new section-at the end of the transition to hold out hopes for complete objectivity, and
in the exposition, before the recapitulation, it would be folly to ignore the tremendous ad-
and at the end of the transition in the vances made in the past twenty years in the
recapitulation-Rossini returns to this musicstudy of manuscripts, archives, the history of
publishing, and so on. But documentary evi-
from the introduction, both the melodic figure
and the tapping bows. The overture is dence per- is generally insufficient. Some manu-
meated by this effect, so that in the midst of copies or printed editions to which no
script
the lyrical second theme, played in octaves primary
by value as sources can be assigned do
flute and clarinet, the composer cannot resist
nonetheless preserve authentic compositions;
some preserve spurious ones. Only by drawing
yet another reference (ex. 18). Even in the final
prolongation of the tonic at the end of the over-
on the resources of both approaches, documen-
tary evidence and stylistic analysis, can we
ture, Rossini has the violinists tap their bows
in rhythm a last time, humorously recalling hope to achieve significant results.
within the concluding bluster the rhythmic Among the early group of Rossini over-
gesture which gave birth to the entire overture.
tures, doubts might exist about the authenti-
The overture to I1 signor Bruschino is,cityon of four pieces, including the two newly
one level, simply an amusing tour de force, discovered
but overtures in D ("al Conventello"
and "obbligata a contrabasso"), the overture to
it comes significantly on the threshold of Ros-
sini's maturity. Beginning his career only a L'equivoco
few stravagante, and that to La scala di
seta. It is worth examining each case in detail,
years earlier, he had barely known how to con-
both for the intrinsic interest of the works
struct an overture at all. By 1813 all signifi-
themselves and to demonstrate the strengths
cant elements of the fully developed archetype
were in place. Rossini had inverted and mas- and limitations of the system of formal and
tered the genre. In II signor Bruschino hestylistic
also analysis developed in parts I and II. We
learned to delight in it. shall begin with two examples where results
are decisive: La scala di seta and the Sinfonia
in D "al Conventello." The other two prob-
III: OVERTURES OF UNCERTAIN AUTHENTICITY lematical cases, the Sinfonia in D "obbligata a
FROM ROSSINI'S FIRST PERIOD contrabasso" and L'equivoco stravagante, will
not permit equally positive responses, but the
There are good reasons to remain cautious evidence
in nonetheless deserves consideration.
using stylistic evidence to develop or test at-
La scala di seta. After its Venetian premiere
tributions, but unless studies of style can assist
on 9 May 1812, at the Teatro San Mose, La
us in grappling with these matters, they are of
limited value. We must continually apply what scala di seta was rarely revived during Ros-
sini's lifetime. Radiciotti lists four occasions,
we have learned and be willing to live with the
20

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
if"" ij ^.. IT. ill
ITi-1 F:Nrgî
It) 4,Jb
: ,Y -r
:~ .tZlf
_~,it3 ? 1. I P I
Example 16
c[] " ""I / [/f]
y?,^^fUl HI ^ 11
Example 17
n,.I LI
I -rr .mr
" ILL
- I I--
if?~
i j Igrr!71[
sf fn
sf s [P] =- 1 C -
Example 18
for none of which has a printed libretto been the Library of Congress in Washington, were
located: Senigallia in the summer of 1813, prepared in Venice in the copisteria of
Venice in 1818, Siena (Teatro dei Rinnovati) Giacomo Zamboni, who was attached to the
during the Carnival season of 1821, and finally Teatro San Mose. They are excellent copies,
Lisbon (Teatro S. Carlos) in January 1825.14 presumably prepared at the time of the first
Loewenberg adds a performance in Barcelona performances. The Washington copy has the
on 4 August 1823.15 There is no evidence what- standard overture; the Parisian copy lacks the
soever that Rossini participated in any of these overture but has bound in its place an orches-
revivals. tral part for cello and bass, identical to that of
Although Rossini's autograph score has not the Washington overture. A manuscript copy
been located, at least five complete manu- of the overture alone exists in the Ravenna col-
scripts of La scala di seta exist. Two of them, in lection described by Fabbri, with the title:
the Bibliotheque du Conservatoire in Paris and "Sinfonia / Del Maestro Rossini / Nella Scala di
Seta / in Ravenna 1813" and the name of Ros-
14Radicotti, m, 194.
sini's close friend from Ravenna, "Sig:r Agos-
s1Alfred Loewenberg, Annals of Opera 1596-1940, 2nd tino Triossi." This piece appears finally in the
edn. (Geneva, 1955), 2 vols., I, column 627. only nineteenth-century editions of La scala di
21

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
19TH seta: a reduction for piano and voice published
CENTURY Bianca e Falliero paraphrases a tune from an
MUSIC by Ricordi in ca. 1852 from a manuscript inLathe
Act I duet of donna del lago, but it is a fairly
Ricordi Archives destroyed duringnondescript
World War melody and Rossini's self-bor-
rowing mayin
II, and a reduction for piano solo published well have been practically un-
Vienna by Sauer & Leidesdorf in the early
intentional. The same cannot be said for the
1820s. themes quoted in the alternative overture to La
The other three surviving manuscripts, in scala di seta. One is from Otello, the cabaletta
the conservatories of Florence and Brussels and theme, "Amor di rada il nembo," of Otello's
in the Boston Public Library, lack any indica-cavatina, which in the overture becomes the
tion of provenance. They essentially follow the second theme; the other is from La Ceneren-
Venetian copies, with one major exception: thetola, the orchestral passage played in the Finale
overture shared by all three manuscripts is not Primo to herald the approach of the disguised
the standard one. Yet another manuscript copy Cenerentola at Don Ramiro's ball (ex. 19). In
of this overture exists, an extract in the Civico the overture the latter appears after the sec-
Museo Bibliografico Musicale in Bologna, ac- ond theme in the recapitulation, but sig-
quired in 1969. Its title page, written in the nificantly there is no analogous passage in the
hand of the same copyist who prepared the exposition. This is only one of the many struc-
music, reads: "La Scala di Seta / Farsa / Del tural problems in this overture.
Sig:r Giovac:"n Rossini." A sampling of the stylistic grounds for de-
There are no biographical or archival nying the attribution of this overture to Ros-
grounds for thinking that Rossini composed an sini would include the following:
alternative overture for La scala di seta. It is 1) The overture is scored for strings, one
conceivable that the manuscript available forflute, two clarinets, two horns, two trumpets,
some projected or actual performance con-and one bassoon. No other Rossini overture
tained only the bass part of the overture, as in lacks oboes, and oboes are part of the in-
the source preserved in Paris. Another musi- strumentation of the opera itself-in which,
cian may thus have been obliged to supply anhowever, trumpets are not present. The origi
overture of his own composition to replace the nal overture has the same instrumentation as
missing one. Surviving copies may derive from the remainder of the opera.
that occasion, and careful study and recon- 2) The slow introduction never departs
struction of the filiation among sources might from its tonic, C major. Every phrase comes to
prove useful in testing this hypothesis. a full cadence; there is not even a prolongation
On musical grounds, however, this alterna- of the dominant to prepare the quick main sec-
tive overture to La scala di seta must surely be tion. No other Rossini overture behaves in this
dismissed as unauthentic. To begin with, its manner.
composer quotes two Rossinian melodies in 3) No second theme in a Rossini overture
full, both written during the winter of 1816-not even those deriving from vocal models, di-
17. There are no instances in which Rossini verges as completely from the standard
quotes melodies from an earlier overture in theperiodic construction of the archetypical sec-
body of a later opera unless he intends to pref-ond theme as does this melody, derived from
ace the latter with the same overture.16 There Otello. It follows a pattern often found among
is only one case in which Rossini quotes Rossini's
a cabalettas, however, a pattern one
melody from the body of an earlier opera inmight a label "linear." A linear theme consists of
later overture (unless he also reuses the melodya basic thematic idea; a continuation, harmon-
within the new opera). The second theme ofically static and usually repeated, which for
want of a better term might be called a "hold-
ing pattern"; and an extended, often florid ca-
'6Although in Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra he does dence (see ex. 19a). This procedure for building
quote a melody from the overture to Sigismondo, the
melody had also occurred within the body of the latter op-a melody is very different from the techniques
era. (See above, p. 8). used by Bellini or Verdi. Exploration of linear
22

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
clar. PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
'rSll 4if lr e ttVaIt~T 7pI-
=G D f 11:7 1t~~~~~~~~9
b.
r I J I I. 1 j I I IExampleI 19
Example 19
melody in Rossini would lead us too far afield. is found the theme quoted from La Ceneren-
Suffice it to say that such a tune has no place in tola (ex. 19b), followed by yet another unre-
a Rossini overture. lated theme in C major, which can be repre-
4) A passage marked crescendo a pocosented a as 2 x 8 + 2 x 4. This theme with its
poco follows the second theme in the exposi- continuation probably was intended to func-
tion, and its external structure (4 x 4 + 4 xtion
1) as a tonic crescendo, but once again the
agrees with the structure of a normal Rossiniscoring bears no relation to Rossini's charac-
crescendo. The composer of the overture teristic
did procedures. In any case, substitution of
not understand how Rossini scores his cre- the exposition crescendo theme by another in
scendos, however, and so the first two state-the recapitulation never occurs in Rossini's au-
thentic overtures.
ments of the four-measure phrase are played by
strings alone, while the last two statements These are only the most obvious ways in
which this alternative overture to La scala di
and continuation are played by the entire or-
chestra. No authentic Rossini crescendo is seta differs from Rossini's practice. Its
scored in this manner. peculiarities cannot be dismissed by calling the
5) The first group in the recapitulation is composition early, since no overture, not even
allowed to resolve on the tonic, and only La cambiale di matrimonio, sins in anything
within the transition does the music begin to like so many ways. The nature of the sources
diverge. Within Rossini's overtures, if a transi- makes this overture suspect; its stylistic and
tion is used in the recapitulation, the first structural anomalies dismiss it from further
group invariably concludes with a movement consideration. There is no period in Rossini's
to bVI. life to which it could be assigned without con-
6) The crescendo of the exposition does structing an elaborate and ultimately unsatis-
not reappear in the recapitulation. In its place factory series of hypotheses.
23

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
19TH Sinfonia in D "al Conventello." The investi-
CENTURY parts identified as the overture of L'equivoco
MUSIC gations of Paolo Fabbri into Rossini's connec-stravagante (Bologna, 1811), to be discussed be-
tions with Ravenna have illuminated sig- low; a faithful copy, dated, "in Ravenna 1813,"
of the overture to La scala di seta (Venice
nificantly a portion of the composer's child-
hood.17 As early as 1803 the eleven-year-old
1812); three numbers from L'equivoco strava-
Rossini became acquainted with Agostino gante, to which sacred texts have been added
Triossi, a wealthy merchant from Ravenna by "Sig:r Giuseppe Forlivesi" of Ravenna;19
twice his age. Triossi was an amateur musician
and most importantly, manuscript copies of
two previously unknown overtures ascribed
and seems to have recognized the boy's talent.
to Rossini, both of which Fabbri accepts as
For Triossi and his friends Rossini composed
authentic. We shall test these attributions
his six Sonate a quattro, as attested to by Ros-
here employing the techniques developed
sini's autograph inscription, added late in his
above.
life on the set of manuscript parts extant at the
Library of Congress in Washington: The Sinfonia in D "al Conventello" is the
simpler case. Conventello was a country home
Six horrendous sonatas composed by me at the
near Ravenna owned by Triossi, probably the
summer house (near Ravenna) of my friend and pa-
tron Agostino Triossi, when I was at the most infan- one referred to in Rossini's inscription on the
tile age, not having yet taken even a single lesson in sonatas. The frontispiece of the manuscript
six
accompaniment: they were all composed and copied reads: "Sinfonia / Scritta al Conventello [erased
in three days, and performed terribly by Triossi, con-
word] per il Sig.r Agostino Triossi /Del Sig.r
trabass; Morini (his cousin), first violin; the latter's
Maestro Gioachino Russini [sic]." This asso-
brother, violoncello; and the second violin by my-
ciation with Triossi and Conventello is itself
self, who was, to tell the truth, the least terrible.18
suggestive, though the manuscript is sloppily
copied. A "Violoncello obbligato" part, for
Triossi was later responsible for a commission
Rossini obtained to compose a Mass for example,
the is a measure off for much of the over-
ture;
Cathedral of Ravenna in 1808, a manuscript when it straightens out, the bass line
copy of which exists in the Archivio Arcives- races a measure ahead. But the reliability of the
covile of Ravenna. Among Fabbri's discoveries copy is not our primary concern; these errors
in the Istituto Musicale 'G. Verdi' of Ravenna are obvious and easily corrected. The central
is the autograph manuscript of the Gratias issue is whether the circumstantial evidence
from this Mass. of the piece's provenance and non-autograph
There are seventeen manuscripts in the identification can be supported stylistically.
collection described by Fabbri, a disproportion- An external relationship is immediately
ate number of which stem from Rossini's early striking: the first theme of the quick main sec-
career. In addition to the Gratias, the only au- tion, Allegro, of the Sinfonia in D "al Conven-
tograph, the collection comprises: a complete tello" was reused practically without change as
score and set of parts for Rossini's cantata, II the corresponding theme in II signor Brus-
pianto d'Armonia, written in 1808 for the chino. Rossini similarly reused a theme from
Liceo Musicale of Bologna; a set of manuscript the previously known Sinfonia in D (1808) in an
early opera overture, and adopted his Sinfonia
in Eb (1809), with some changes, for La cam-
7See the study by Fabbri cited in fn. 11. biale di matrimonio (1810).20 As no later ties
'8"Sei Sonate orrende da me composte alla villeggiatura between Rossini and Triossi are known, the
(preso Ravenna) del mio amico mecenate, Agostino Triossi
alla eta la pii Infantile non avendo neppure una Lezione di
accompagnamento, il Tutto composto e copiato in Tre
Giomi ed eseguita cagnescamente dal Triossi Contrabasso, '9Fabbri identifies Forlivesi as a tenor who ran a singing
Morini (di lui Cugino) Primo Violino, I1 fratello di questo ii school in Ravenna around 1812. Since Rossini's opera was
Violoncello, ed il Secondo Violino da me stesso, che ero per not revived later, these manuscripts are presumably not
dir ver il meno cane." The autograph inscription is re- much later than 1812.
printed in facsimile by Alfredo Casella in his article "Una 2OFabbri claims that several other themes are related to
ignota 'Sonata' per archi di Gioacchino Rossini," in Ros- ideas in the orchestral introduction to II pianto d'Ar-
siniana (Bologna, 1942), pp. 37-39. The six sonatas are monia, but these are more generic relationships, neither
edited in vol. I (Pesaro, 1954) of the Quaderni rossiniani. direct nor even indirect citations.
24

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
a.
PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
^trtfl^~ifmîd^ llL r !
t rtOfl -rI1If I Ic I
v1 solo cellotf f f I
solo cello
Example 20
the dominant, A major, without an internal

Sinfonia "al Conventello," if it is by Rossini,
should precede the overture to II signor Brus-
modulation. The transition recurs, finally with
a tonal function as it leads back to D major for
chino. This is borne out by the formal structure
of the newly discovered overture. the recapitulation of the first theme. The open-
The Sinfonia "al Conventello" shares ing measures of the transition are heard yet
many significant characteristics with the ear- in the tonic, but cadences immediately
again,
liest Rossini overtures. Its slow introduction ensue and the Sinfonia "al Conventello"
only hints at a lyrical period. The first theme,comes to a close.
later quoted in II signor Bruschino, is followed A transition within the quick main section
which fails to modulate; a second theme first
by a transition (ex. 20a) which fails to modulate
properly. Its opening four-measure phrase heard in the tonic, and only then in the domi-
could easily have been developed into an ar- nant, but never recapitulated in the tonic; the
chetypical transition, but in fact it seesaws absence of a crescendo: we recognize every one
of these divergencies from the archetype. The
twice from I to V to I, then struggles pointlessly
to reach A major as V, its very point of depar- Sinfonia in D "al Conventello" shares them
ture. This ability to define musical ideas but with Demetrio e Polibio and the Sinfonia in Eb
lack of control over their direction is a mark of
(La cambiale di matrimonio). It is charming,
slight work, but there can be little question
the young Rossini. Peculiarly, it is the second,
lyrical theme that provides the modulation.about
A its authenticity. Externally and inter-
first phrase, played by solo cello (ex. 20b),
nally the piece proves itself a significant addi-
closes on the dominant; it is repeated by the
tion to the canon of Rossini juvenilia.
first violin, now modulating finally to A major.
Sinfonia in D "obbligata a contrabasso." The
Though Rossini characteristically highlights
solo winds in the second group, here the cello
apparent authenticity of the Sinfonia "al Con-
emerges as soloist instead, perhaps played ventello"
by should augur well for the other new
one of Triossi's friends or even by "the least
overture, whose manuscript occurs in the same
collection. But its title page has no specific link
terrible" of the string players, Gioacchino Ros-
with Tirossi: "Sinfonia / Del Sig. Maestro Ros-
sini. The non-modulating transition is repeated
almost intact in the new key, making way for sini
a / obbligata a Contrabasso." Nor does its
repetition of the second theme, now givenfirst in page, where the title is: "Grand' Overtura
25

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jaon Thu, 01 Jan 1976 12:34:56 UTC
19TH obbligata / a Contrabasso," with the last word classical rules and models, one can as
MUSIC erased.21 None of its themes recur in other overture to Rossini's years of Bolog
Rossini compositions, and as we examine the trapuntal study (1807-10)... ." The
overture more closely many other doubts begins with a plausible slow intro
emerge. whose opening phrase differentia
The disposition of the instruments in the tutti from a softer continuation, mixin
manuscript and the orchestration as well are and winds. Its varied repetition procee
unusual for Rossini. In his mature works, after fully to the dominant, where a stan
ca. 1812, Rossini consistently laid out his au- sinian prolongation-repeated one-
tographs with violins on top followed by violas. phrases decreasing in volume and
Winds came next-flutes, oboes, clarinets, shifting downward in register-conc
then horns, trumpets, bassoons, trombones, introduction on V. The absence of
timpani, violoncellos, and contrabass. Among theme marks this overture, should
Rossini's earlier works, a variant is sometimes Rossini, as early.
found: violas are grouped with the bass in- The opening theme of the quick m
struments near the bottom of the score, rather tion, while free of the standard scalar
than appearing after the violins at the top. This so common in Rossini overtures, is
is the arrangement in the autograph of II pianto well within Rossini's style (ex. 21); it
d'Armonia (1808), for example, and in the copy ity to the stretta of the first-act Final
of the Sinfonia "al Conventello" discussed biere di Siviglia is palpable evidence
above. No work by Rossini to our knowledge, period of thirty-two measures, its
however, is laid out as is the Sinfonia measure antecedent is played by the
"obbligata a contrabasso," with staves as- lins, accompanied by lower strings,
signed, from the top down, to corni, flauto, V; in the consequent, which returns
oboS, clarinetti, violini [I and II], viole, melody occurs in violoncellos, contr
fagotto, trombone, violoncello, and basso. bassoon, with piquant interjections
Placing the violins in the middle of the score is winds between phrases. The most u
contrary to Rossini's practice. pect of this theme, however, is the co
Equally puzzling is the presence of the tal play in the third phrase of both
trombone, for Rossini does not use trombones Though the phrase is neither elaborate
in any other early overture. Indeed, trombones tirely felicitous (violas and first vi
first unequivocally appear among Rossini's proach their fourth awkwardly in si
overtures in II Turco in Italia (1814). What is tion, with the larger leap on top),
more, there are no trumpets in the score, and normally expect to find such passages
nowhere else does Rossini fail to use trumpets sinian first theme.
in a piece containing a part for trombone. Still, Both for its familiar basic material and its
it is possible that a copyist reversed the order of failure to employ it according to the archetype,
instruments from that of the autograph or was the transition is thoroughly in the Rossinian
assembling the score from parts, just as Rossini manner for his early period. As in the Sinfonia
may have been writing for a certain body of "al Conventello," the music seesaws twice
available musicians. We cannot, in short, rely from I to V and back, exhausting its potential
too heavily on evidence of this type. before exploiting it (ex. 22). Horns pick up the
The structure of this overture follows a F#, transforming it to the root of F# major.
more traditional outline than the very earliest From there the music shifts sequentially, be-
Rossini overtures. According to Fabbri, "Be- fore coming to rest on E major as V of V, whose
cause of its shape, which conforms more to prolongation is thoroughly standard. The final
approach to the new tonic features solo winds
in turn (oboe, then flute, finally clarinet).
21The "obbligata a Contrabasso" is really a misnomer. This emphasis on winds at the end of the
There are solos for the bass in this overture, but the con-
trabass are always combined with violoncellos and bas- transition leads naturally to a second theme
soon.
begun by strings alone. The theme is unusually
26

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
t)ii . /11~: * a /^~f>^ /^?^ PHILIP GOSSETT
-? rf rlF i Ltrr r r ' ' it Ir r r i I r --

piano assai
Rossini's Overtures
g-" fl^ LJ ii J ;Ja ii J - F

t r r" fr1r r, -,.'
."r. ~p' fr p r,
Example 21
iff rtassai
f assai F; ;F
yt* r$"+ rrrr '
Example 22
fi..
ir r rt . r r i rr . r X
clar. Theme
fl ~ Theme
^-rr rnF
s:$" j <4 s J j LU4 B
counterpoint
Example 23
long for a Rossini overture (twenty-four

clarinet, but mea-
violoncellos, contrabass, and
sures), somewhat banal melodically and dull
soon supply yet another counterpoint bene
harmonically. The melody recovers towards
based on the its
first phrase. An interest in
cadence, where the first violins' tune is elaboration
trapuntal dou- begins to seem ch
bled by the flute. Now the entire theme
teristic of is re-piece. The harmonic regul
this
peated in the winds. Its first phrase is treated
and melodic simplicity of the second th
contrapuntally, with a lovely mayimitation
well bebe-
due to its composer's desi
work
tween clarinet and flute (ex. 23); thethese imitations into the body o
second
phrase is parcelled out among overture.
oboe, flute, and
27

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
19TH
There is no crescendo. Instead the music
themes harmonically is poor: the E minor im-
CENTURY
MUSIC proceeds directly to cadences. A standard plications
ca- of the first theme are swallowed in
dential phrase opens the section, based on the
the A7 implications of the second, leaving the
opening phrase of the second theme, but it is
former's B homeless. After eight measures, the
varied on its repetition. The opening forte passage
be- is repeated three more times in cre-
comes piano and the initial A major becomes scendo.
A The full orchestral resources are
minor, though both the original dynamic level employed, the register is filled out, there is in-
and modality are restored at the end of this var-
creased rhythmic activity in the accompanying
ied repeat. Additional cadences close the ex-parts as the crescendo proceeds: all earmark
of the archetypical Rossini crescendo. In this
position. A first violin solo, constructed from
fragments of the second theme, leads backpassage
to the contrapuntal leanings present
the tonic and to the recapitulation. Most of this
throughout the overture find their apotheosis.
When tutta forza is reached, twelve new ca-
is perfectly compatible with a stylistic attribu-
dential measures ensue, to be followed by an
tion to Rossini, particularly in his early years.
The opening of the recapitulation is ab- appearance in the tonic of the cadential passage
breviated: only the consequent of the opening that concluded the exposition. With a few addi-
tional measures on the tonic, the overture
theme is played, nor is it allowed to finish. In-
ends.
stead, it moves abruptly to the transition (using
a V-VI progression), which consequently Were this Sinfonia "obbligata a con-
trabasso" supposed to be a mature work of
opens in B major. Here the transition phrase
behaves the way a mature Rossinian transition
Rossini's, one could easily disallow it. But as a
phrase should, proceeding in four-measure youthful work, despite its many admitted dif-
units from B major, to E minor, to D7, toferences
G from other early overtures, it is harder
to exclude, since so many aspects are similar to
major, and finally to A major as V. The prolon-
gation follows the exposition as does the sec-
Rossini's practice. The extensive attempt to
ond theme, played twice in the tonic. The or-
incorporate contrapuntal activity within the
chestration centers both times on the winds,work, a practice not normally associated with
and counterpoints pop up throughout the in- Rossini, is fundamental to the essence of this
struments, encouraged by the simplistic overture. It causes directly many of the more
tonic-dominant harmonies which underlie the peculiar aspects of the piece: the melodic na-
entire section. The very last chord, however, is ture of its first theme, the structure of its sec-
unexpectedly D minor, rather than D major. ond theme, the function of its coda with cre-
Instead of the opening cadential phrase, we scendo. Can we account for a piece of this kind
hear its modified repetition, beginning in in Rossini's early career?
minor and closing in major. This in turn ap- One of the most reliable of contemporary
pears to lead to the D-major version; but just as biographies of Rossini is by Alexis Azevedo,
we are settling down for the remainder of the published in Paris in 1864. Azevedo, music
cadences, the first violins are abandoned to critic and journalist, was a close friend and fa-
play a descending chromatic line. The strings natical supporter of Rossini. Even a friendly
softly pause on a dominant chord, and then Italian critic, Filippo Filippi, recognized in
there is silence. Azevedo "an admirer, even too exclusively so,
Something momentous is obviously being of the Pesarese."22 The French critic and
prepared. A low D sounds in the violoncellos musicologist Arthur Pougin is much more vi-
alone. As it continues the horns begin the tuperative: "passionate to an excess, he recog-
second theme as the violas and bassoon si- nized only a single genre of music, remained
multaneously embrace the first theme in completely deaf to the beauties found in works
counterpoint-bad counterpoint, with parallel
octaves and improperly resolving dissonances
(ex. 24). In particular, the coordination of the 22Cited in Radiciotti, op. cit., II, 469.
28

78.104.72.154 on Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:11:40 UTC
hns. PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures
cello
sotto voce bsn
rrr rrrr rrrr rrrrrrrrr rrrr rr rr

vlc. Example 24
not coming from the Italian school,

his overture, and by
performed con-
his fellow students
sidered enemies all those who did
at the not think
Conservatory, as it so poor that he
found
he did." Pougin goes on to accuse
ripped Azevedo
it up on the spot."24of
An overture with
"irrational adoration of Rossini, fugue. A whose
fascinating idea, one unlike any
youth-
ful trifles he considered of equal
known workworth
by Rossiniwith
from these years.
Guillaume Tell or the Barber."23 Azevedo's Might this composition, the overture Rossini
biography of Rossini has many errors, to bethought he had destroyed, be the Sinfonia
sure, but its author was clearly in contact with "obbligata a contrabasso"? Though it is hard
Rossini while writing it. His commentary isto see much influence from The Magic Flute,
consequently always of some value. the piece is certainly more contrapuntal in
Azevedo is quite accurate on the subject ofconception than any other by Rossini, the
Rossini's relations to Triossi and Ravenna. He counterpoint smacking of schoolboy efforts,
mentions the sonatas written for Triossi, cor- only partially learned and half-heartedly be-
rectly refers to the latter as an amateur on the lieved in.
contrabass, and speaks of the Mass for Ravenna We cannot be certain, and may never be so
and Triossi's part in its commission. Presum- unless other sources emerge. We can tenta-
ably this information came directly from the tively assert that the Sinfonia "obbligata a
composer. In discussing Rossini's years at the contrabasso" has enough points of agreement
Liceo Musicale of Bologna, Azevedo recalls with the early overtures of Rossini that it may
Rossini's fascination with the music of Haydn be considered a work written specifically under
and Mozart, going on to say that Padre Mattei, the influence of contrapuntal studies underta-
his teacher, called Rossini "il Tedeschino." ken by him at the Liceo Musicale of Bologna,
Azevedo also speaks of Rossini's lack of real perhaps in 1809 or 1810. If this assumption is
interest in advanced contrapuntal studies, correct, some of the techniques developed here,
which he considered of little relevance to Ital- the handling of the transitional material in the
ian opera. recapitulation and the crescendo in the coda,
Among Rossini's early compositions would have importance for Rossini's later
Azevedo mentions a "Symphonie d grand or- career. As these techniques were harnessed and
chestre," explaining that this refers in Italian applied in different ways, they would become
to an overture. He describes it as "an overture fundamental elements in the archetypical Ros-
with fugue, written by the young composer in sini overture. Our stylistic techniques, how-
imitation of that of Mozart's The Magic Flute, ever, can only help us evaluate the piece and
whose beauty had struck him.... In any event, understand where it might fit into Rossini's
Rossini, after having had his sinfonia, that is, development: more than that they cannot
reveal.
23Pougin's article is found in F. J. Fetis, Biographie univer-
selle des musiciens, Supplement et Complement, pub-
lished under the direction of Arthur Pougin (Paris, 1878), I, 24Alexis Azevedo, G. Rossini: sa vie et ses ceuvres (Paris,
34-35.
1864), p. 49.
29

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19TH L'equivoco stravagante. The case of L'equiv- OVERTURES ASSIGNED TO L'EQUIVOCO
STRAVAGANTE IN CONTEMPORARY SOURCES
MUSIC oco stravagante is the most complex of all.
Performed in Bologna at the Teatro del Corso1) Overture to Torvaldo e Dorliska (1815).
on 26 October 1811, Rossini's third opera had Appears in most known contemporary manu-
little success at its premiere and few, if any,scripts of the complete opera, including those
documented revivals in the nineteenth cen- in the Brussels conservatory, the Boston Public
Library, the New York Public Library, and the
tury.25 A twentieth-century revival took placeFlorence Conservatory.
in Siena in 1965.26 Among surviving sources for
2) Overture to Aureliano in Palmira (1813) (= II
this opera (no autograph is known), five sepa-barbiere di Siviglia).
rate overtures exist, a staggering number.
Appears in the Ricordi edition of the piano-vocal
Table 2 summarizes these overtures and their score, printed in Milan ca. 1850.
sources.
3) Overture to La cambiale di matrimonio (1810).
Considering each piece in detail Found would in a un-
complete set of eighteen orchestral
necessarily prolong this study. Let parts
us ininstead
the collection of the Istituto Musicale
summarize the problem briefly. Neither 'G. Verdi' inthe
Ravenna. All parts are labelled
overture of Torvaldo e Dorliska nor of Au- "L'equivoco stravagante." The Basso part has
the fullest frontispiece: "Sinfonia I Dell'opera
reliano in Palmira is likely to have been intitolata l'Equivoco stravagante I Musica I Del
written for L'equivoco stravagante. They are Sig.r Maestro Gioacchino Russini [sic] N?. 18.
fully mature Rossini overtures in every respect, Parti cavate."
in form, orchestration, and melodic construc- 4) Overture in D major.
tion, belonging unequivocally to his second Found in a manuscript of the entire opera in the
period. To claim that they were written in 1811 Bibliotheque Nationale (fonds du Conserva
would totally upset our understanding of the toire) in Paris, D. 13.057. The piece bears n
relationship to other Rossini overtures.
Rossini overtures, requiring us to postulate
that Rossini developed his mature style over- Overture in F major.
5)
Found as the opening number in the reductio
night, promptly forgot it, and then worked for piano solo of L'equivoco stravagante pub-
through an additional series of five overtures to lished in Vienna by M. I. Leidesdorf (pl. no. 955,
recover it. 1820?). A copy survives in the Wurttemberg
Nor is the case for the two unknown over- ische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. It too has n
relation to other Rossini overtures.
tures (in D and in F) strong: they share little
with the particularities of Rossini's composi- Table 2
tional practice during this period. Indeed, each
has details that flatly contradict this practice.
The overture in D, for example, concludes with and their very automatic, unconscious status
a sustained dominant chord in the penultimatemakes their presence all the more compelling.
measure, resolving to the tonic in the final The only exception is Bianca e Falliero (1819),
measure. A simple cadence, to be sure, but where the opening theme of the overture re-
Rossini's authentic overtures conclude with a
turns at its close, a carefully calculated effect
prolongation of I for several measures: no ex-
which obviously supersedes the instinctual
traneous chords are allowed, not even the dom-
process. But, significantly, when Rossini rein-
inant. He instinctively chose such endings,
troduced this theme and its reprise in the over-
ture to Le siege de Corinthe (1826), he added
several bars of decisive tonic chords at the end,
as though acknowledging that he considered
25Radiciotti, op. cit., III, 191, cites a performance of the
an conclusion of Bianca e Falliero incomplete.
opera entitled L'equivoco stravagante in 1825 at the Teatro
Communale, Trieste. But the extant libretto has no con- While the F-major overture printed by
Leidesdorf shares
nection with Rossini's opera, either in its text, nor, judging some elements with the Ros-
from the metrical structure of the verse, its music. sinian archetype, they are insufficient to bind
26See Adelmo Damerini, "La prima ripresa modema di
un'opera giovanile di Rossini," Chigiana, Nuova serieit
2 to Rossini himself. Other elements are quite
(Firenze, 1965), pp. 229-36. different. The structure of the slow introduc-
30

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PHILIP GOSSETT
they had been copied from the autograph or a Rossini's
tion, for example, while tripartite, has none of Overtures
the character of a Rossini introduction. The source close to it.27 Such borrowing may also
first section concludes with an elaborate, help explain the multiple overtures, for the lost
strong tonic cadence, destroying any sense of autograph of L'equivoco stravagante probably
preparation for the entrance of the lyricalhad no overture. If manuscripts circulated
theme in the tonic. The latter is also followed without an overture, editors or musical direc-
by lengthy tonic cadences, so that when the tors would inevitably have attempted to supply
what the composer apparently neglected to
music finally shifts to V at the end of the intro-
duction, the motion is extremely abrupt and provide. No decisive case can yet be made, but
the prolongation of V much too short. None of a consideration of the alternatives points
the proportions characteristic of a Rossinian strongly towards this result.
slow introduction are maintained. Within the
quick main section the transition opens with a
Rossinian transitional idea, used to effect a By defining precisely the archetypical Rossini
proper modulation, but the four-measure overture, we have demonstrated the essential
phrase is soon reduced to only two measures nature of Rossini's musical language. Against
for an overly lengthy sequential trip through that archetype we have sought to trace his
the circle of fifths, a technique unknown in the early compositional development, a coherent
Rossini overtures. The second theme is ex- and essentially logical one. Using both the ar-
tremely pedestrian (a value judgement, to be
chetype and the particularities of this early
sure), suffering from harmonic stasis even period, we have addressed four problems of au-
greater than that of the Sinfonia "obbligata a
thenticity affecting early overtures. Two can be
contrabasso." The author of this overture dispatched with as much certainty as we can
knew Rossini models-probably more mature hope to attain: the alternate overture to La
ones than are found in the earliest overtures, scala di seta is not by Rossini, while the Sin-
since he places crescendos correctly after fonia the in D "al Conventello" is. The Sinfonia in
second theme in both exposition and recapitu- D "obbligata a contrabasso" is a more in-
lation. But he distrusts the device, his cre- teresting case, a piece for which special cir-
scendo having only a 2 x 4 measure structure, cumstances may have existed and for which we
whereas Rossini's all repeat the crescendo may therefore have to stretch our vision of the
theme at least three times. There is, in short, composer's formative years. Though the analy-
no compelling reason to assign this overture sis in cannot guarantee the authenticity of the
F major to Rossini. composition, it creates a context in which the
Which leaves La cambiale di matrimonio, piece can be understood. Finally, in the case of
certainly an attractive possibility. We can L'equivoco
eas- stravagante, with its extremely
ily imagine Rossini reusing this overture in problematical
his source situation, our criteria can
next opera. The parts are well copied, theiratlo- the very least reduce the number of pos-
cation in Ravenna adds force to the identifica- sibilities; at best, they can suggest ways of
tion, and the parts are filled with the closed ac- thinking which will clarify the issues ^
cents so characteristic of Rossini's music, as if and offer feasible solutions. >i
27Rossini's graphical hallmarks are preserved in A

Zedda's critical edition of II barbiere di Siviglia
1969), 2 vols., and discussed in the critical commen
31

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The Overtures of Rossini

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The Overtures of Rossini

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The Overtures of Rossini

Author(s): Philip Gossett

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3519819

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Little did Rossini suspect that many ofnew

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THE ARCHETYPICAL ROSSINI OVERTURE

Slow Introductory Section I-V

Short Modulation V-V7-I

Recapitulation: First theme I-bVI

Slow Introductory Section. Beginning his way, as do Paer's La Griselda (1798), La

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low winds ob.

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Sinfonia in Eb 1809 Reused with alterations in La cambiale di matri-

La pietra del paragone in D 1812 Reused without change in Tancredi (1813).

L'occasione fa il ladro not a closed 1812 A "Sinfonia e Introduzione," continuing directly

I1 signor Bruschino in D 1813 First theme taken from the Sinfonia

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lower strs., pizzicato

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c[] " ""I / [/f]

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the dominant, A major, without an internal

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27Rossini's graphical hallmarks are preserved in A