Gioachino Rossini

Zelmira was the last opera Rossini wrote for the Teatro San Carlo and it succeeds in maintaining a constant, consistent level of musical excellence.

A selection from Rossini’s operas written for the legendary tenors at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Bruce Ford, William Matteuzzi and Paul Austin Kelly, with Nelly Miricioiu and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, sing pieces from Otello, Armida, La donna del lago and Ricciardo e Zoraide.

Opera Rara recorded the new critical edition by the Rossini Foundation of Otello. Hugely admired in its day, this highly innovative score contains some of Rossini’s most inspired music.

Rossini’s La donna del lago (Naples, 1819) was not only the first Italian opera to be based on a work by Sir Walter Scott, the narrative poem The Lady of the Lake: it was also a milestone in the development of romanticism in Italian opera.

Ermione is without doubt one of the greatest operas by Rossini, despite it being perhaps the least immediately successful: Ermione was received with incomprehension at its sole performance in 1819 and was never revived in Rossini’s lifetime.