Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was an Italian composer whose melodic richness, wit, and dazzling vocal virtuosity made him the ruler of Europe's opera stages in the early 19th century. He is regarded as the pinnacle of the opera buffa (comic opera) genre.
His most famous work is “The Barber of Seville,” a model of musical comedy full of sparkling humour and irrepressible energy. The celebrated overture to the opera “William Tell” became an ornament of concert programmes. Rossini was also famed for his signature device of gradual orchestral build-up, which contemporaries jokingly dubbed the “Rossini crescendo.” Having written some forty operas, the composer unexpectedly abandoned opera at the age of 37 and devoted the rest of his life to sacred works (Stabat Mater, Petite messe solennelle) and chamber music, and to his other passion — fine cuisine.
