The Overtures of Rossini

Author(s): Philip Gossett

Source: 19th-Century Music, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul., 1979), pp. 3-31
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3519819
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The

Overtures

of

Rossini

PHILIP GOSSETT

Little did Rossini suspect that many of his

finest operas would survive through their overtures alone. Master of irony himself, he would
have smiled at La scala di seta with all but its
bottom rung lopped off. Supreme parodist, he
would have delighted at the Keystone Cops
scurrying to the strains of Guillaume Tell. But
irony and parody have darker sides, and Rossini might have wondered at the success of a
genre which in his most ambitious works he
renounced. His popular overtures (Semiramide
and Guillaume Tell excepted) date from his
early career. Indeed, during his Neapolitan
years, when he exercised fullest control over
the content and production of his operas, he
avoided formal overtures altogether.
As a conscientious craftsman, Rossini
would have been less amused at the extent to
which his overtures have been misunderstood.
0148-2076/79/0700-0003 $0.25 ? 1979 by The Regents
of the University of California.

Many new ones were invented by avaricious

contemporary publishers, bringing large revenues from a public both avid for Rossini overtures and indifferent as to whether he had actually composed them. Music from the opera
could easily be adapted to this end. Thus La
donna del lago and Zelmira regularly sported
overtures in the nineteenth century, pieced together from the music of the large ensembles-the Introduzioni-which
open these
operas.' But creating an overture where none
'Both the first Breitkopf& Hartel edition of La donna del
lago (pl. no. 3731, 1823) and the earliest Ricordi edition (pl.
nos. 2892-2907, 1826-27), for example, open with an
"Ouverture"or "Sinfonia," which is simply the first section of the Introduzione with the choral parts suppressed.
ForZelmira an overture was invented by using the orchestral introduction of the opening chorus and adding a concluding section based on Antenore's cabaletta, "Sorte secondami." In this form the "overture" was published by
Simrock in Germany (pl. no. 2015, 1823), Lorenzi in Florence (pl. no. 711, date unknown), and Ratti, Cencetti e
Comp. in Rome (pl. no. 227, 1828).
3

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

exists is also a modem phenomenon. For the

centenary of Rossini's death in 1968 an Italian company issued recordings of all the overtures.2 Eager for their project to be complete,
they included all the music played in the orchestra at the beginning of each opera, whether
or not these so-called "overtures" are independent compositions.
In Rossini's operas a precise distinction can
practically always be made between an orchestral introduction, meaningless when severed
from the larger musical unit to which it belongs, and an independent overture. In two
operas, L'occasione fa il ladro and Ricciardo e
Zoraide, Rossini emphasizes the link between
an unusually elaborate orchestral introduction
and the opening number of the opera by using
the title "Sinfonia e Introduzione."3 Ricciardo
e Zoraide, for example, begins with a tripartite
instrumental composition:
Largo
Marziale
Andante

C minor
C major
F major, modulating to and
closing in A minor

Tonally the piece is open-ended, while formally it seems incoherent. This "Sinfonia e Introduzione," however, concludes convincingly
with a reprise of the Marziale passage for
chorus, to the text "Cinti di nuovi allori." To
wrench the orchestral introduction out of this
context is clearly unacceptable. Such invented
anomalies must necessarily obscure our understanding of the Rossini overture.
The consequences are twofold. First, critics 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
impossible to confront problems of authentic-

2Eight discs and accompanying notes were published by

Fratelli FabbriEditorias vols. 67-74 of their series I grandi
musicisti. The unsigned notes, unlike the recordings, are
often quite good.
3This title also appearsin the autographof La donna del
lago, but it is vestigial. The orchestral introduction to this
opera bears the same relation to its opening chorus as do
countless other orchestral introductions to choruses,
whether the choruses are initial segments of an Introduzione, a Coro e Cavatina, or a Finale Primo, or are independent numbers.
4

ity. Attributions of overtures to Rossini are accepted even though they violate fundamental
stylistic norms. An overture in Bb major for II
barbiere di Siviglia, frequently cited, is a
travesty of Rossinian procedures.4 A Sinfonia
di Odense, recently discovered and printed, is
filled with peculiarities of phrase structure,
melodic design, and form.5 Even the fairly popular overture to II viaggio a Reims is suspect.
One must exercise caution when using stylistic or formal evidence to investigate problems
of authenticity: few composers show a monolithic approach to musical forms, and none
develops in a completely predictable fashion.
But until we perceive better the essence of the
Rossini overture we cannot begin even to debate these questions.
This study is in three parts. In part I the
archetypical Rossini overture is defined and illustrated. Part II focuses on Rossini's early development as a composer of overtures, a period
during which the archetypical procedures are
being formed. In the final section, part III, results of the preceding investigations are applied
to several overtures of uncertain authenticity
from this first period.6
I: THE ARCHETYPICALROSSINIOVERTURE

We can define with precision a "typical" Rossini overture. Our archetype is, of course, a
fiction, a composite vision of Rossini's art, a
model against which to understand the particularities of individual overtures. Its external

4A theme from this overture, which exists in several contemporary prints and manuscripts, is reproducedby Herbert 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
Music Review 11 (1950), 19-22. The source is a group of
manuscript orchestral parts of uncertain origin. Despite
the manifold doubts this piece elicits on both textual and
musical grounds,it was published in vol. 8 of the Quaderni
rossiniani (Pesaro, 1959), pp. 17-65.
6In the larger study of Rossini's overtures of which this
paper is an excerpt, the entire development is traced, and
five distinct periods are defined as paradigmaticfor further
study of Rossini's music. This comprehensive study of the
overtures forms the first chapter of a book in progress,on
Rossini's operas.

form is not extraordinary, deriving obviously

from opera overtures of the late eighteenth
century. But the clarity of the design, the careful adaptation of musical material to specific
formal function, and the use of the crescendo
are aspects of Rossini's art which were to exert
a significant influence on later Italian composers. None of his imitators, however, could hope
to match the richness of melody, rhythm, and
orchestral detail which characterize the Rossini overtures.
In the archetypical overture, a slow intro-

duction, which serves the harmonic function

of establishing the tonic and then moving to
the dominant, prepares a quick main section,
constructed according to the sonata principle
of contrasting thematic groups in different
tonal regions. A simple transition from the exposition to the recapitulation replaces the development section, which is traditional in
sonata movements but generally absent in
overtures. When the tonic is a minor key, the
secondary key is its relative major. (See diagram 1.)

THE ARCHETYPICAL
ROSSINIOVERTURE
Slow IntroductorySection

I-V

Quick Main Section

Exposition: First theme
Transition
Second theme
Crescendo
Cadences

I
I-V of V
V
V
V

Short Modulation

V-V7-I

Recapitulation: First theme

Transition
Second theme
Crescendo
Cadences
Additional cadences

I-bVI
bVI-V
I
I
I
I

Diagram 1

Slow Introductory Section. Beginning his

overtures with a slow introduction, Rossini followed a practice common among composers of
Italian opera in the first decade of the
nineteenth century. The three-movement
overture of earlier eighteenth-century Italian
opera, with its ties to the pre-Classical symphony, could hardly follow developments leading to the Classical symphony and yet maintain 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
Paisiello consist of a single quick movement,
as do some of Mozart's (Idomeneo, Le nozze di
Figaro, La clemenza di Tito). At the end of the
century it became customary to preface this
quick movement with a short slow introduction, perhaps to capture the audience's attention. Cimarosa's late operas Penelope (1795)
and Gli Orazi e i Curiazi (1797) begin in this

way, as do Paer's La Griselda (1798), La

Camilla (1799), and Agnese (1809), and most of
Simone Mayr's operas written after 1800.
These composers could have found models in
Mozart operas (Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte,
Die Zauberflote) and late Haydn symphonies, not to mention the old Lullian French
overture, but the proximate source of their new
practice remains obscure.7

7The problem of the slow introduction in the eighteenth

century, particularlyin the works of the Viennese Classical
composers,has been studied by MarianneDanckwardt,Die
langsame Einleitung: Ihre Herkunft und ihr Bau bei
Haydn und Mozart (Tutzing, 1977). Her rapid glance at
nineteenth-century Italian opera(pp.298-301), however, is
not very helpful. Somewhat more useful is the general discussion of Rossini's overtures in Susanne Steinbeck, Die
Ouvertiire in der Zeit von Beethoven bis Wagner:Probleme und Losungen (Miinchen, 1973),but the sheer bulk of
music she attempts to cover precludes her entering into
this repertoirewith any thoroughness.
5

PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

The slow introduction in a Rossini overture consists of three parts. In the first, loud
orchestral chords are followed by softer passages, or else a soft opening swells to forte.
These contrasting extreme dynamics are theatrically and psychologically apt: loud passages
impose themselves on a fidgeting audience,
quiet ones demand their closer attention. The
musical content here is motivic and dynamic
rather than melodic, with constant interplay
among instrumental groups (strings, winds,
and tutti). Rossini nonetheless organizes his
motives into a regular musical phrase with a
balanced antecedent and consequent. Using
material which may or may not be motivically
related to the opening phrase, he then proceeds
to a full cadence in the tonic or a related key.
The opening of II barbiere di Siviglia is
exemplary lex. 1).
Though Rossini's gift for elegiac melody
can be overlooked in the swirling motion of his
energetic passages, the slow introduction of the
archetypical overture is characterizedby a lyrical second part. One occasionally finds melodic
outbursts in earlier overtures, to be sure, but
rarely with the breadth and quasi-vocal character of Rossini's. Melody reigns unencumbered,
and the orchestra merely curtseys before her. A
single wind instrument often emerges into
prominence, as in the horn solo from II Turco
in Italia (ex. 2). Whether the lyrical melody appears in the tonic or in a foreign key (here bIIl),
it must always then proceed to the dominant-either directly, as in this example, or
after a full cadence. In either case the final element of the slow introduction stresses the
dominant.
Extended prolongation of the dominant
harmony builds expectations of resolution to
the tonic. These are further heightened at the
close of the slow introduction by Rossini's
use of short repeated phrases, often with an
orchestrated diminuendo (anticipating the orchestrated crescendo to come in the main part
of the overture).In the following example from
Torvaldo e Dorliska, a two-measure phrase is
played twice (2 x 2), followed by a half-measure
motive played four times (4 x '/2), each time

descending in register and volume. Throughout, the music remains poised on the dominant, maintaining suspense, until a renewed
6

chordal forte brings the slow introduction to a

close (ex. 3). The quick main section of the
overture will supply the anticipated resolution.
That the slow introduction should contain
three distinct sections with three diverse functions might seem excessive fragmentation of a
short passage, even when occasional motivic
relations, melodic or accompanimental, link
these sections. It can be explained partially by
observing that in two operas, Aureliano in
Palmira and Maometto II (1822), the slow introduction is essentially identical to the orchestral passage which opens an important scena
ed aria later in the action.8 Within the latter
genre the fragmented structure of the introductory orchestral material meets the specific
compositional requirements of the musicaldramatic form. The orchestral introduction
leads directly to recitative, during the course of
which the orchestra will interject fragments of
its introduction, following the order of their
original presentation. Thematically neutral recitative may alternate with these orchestral interjections, or more impassioned declamation
may be superposed on them. In either case the
fragmented structure of the introduction allows a measure of both coherence and flexibility within the recitative. When the same procedures are applied to the overture, however,
the internal structural details of the slow introduction are less compelling; we consequently find more pronounced divergencies
here than in any other part of our archetype. In
particular,the earliest overtures will be seen to
have only hints of a regular melodic period

8In the original version of Maometto II (Naples, 1820),

which has no overture, the orchestral passage introduces
the scena ed aria of Calbo in Act II. When Rossini addedan
overture for the Venetian revival of 1822 he incorporated
this music verbatim, instructing an associate to copy only
the list of instruments and the bass line. Rossini's own autograph begins at the quick main section of the overture.
This incomplete appearance of the score has confused
many critics, and one still reads occasionally that the overture to the 1822 Maometto II was never finished.
The autographmanuscript of Aureliano in Palmira has
not been found, but the orchestral passage which in the
opera introduces the Gran scena of Arsace in Act II was
surely written before the overture which quotes it. In this
case, however, the original autographof the overture must
also have included the slow introduction in Rossini's hand.
Not only is the overture in a different key, but there are
also numerous other variants between the two passages.

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Tutti

strs.

AI

PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

winds

strs., bsn.

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Example 2

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Example 3

within the introduction, while later overtures

expand the melodic period at the expense and
even to the exclusion of motivic phrases and
formulas.
Quick Main Section. Although it is unfashionable to describe sonata-form movements as
having two "themes," such a description is appropriate for the main section of a Rossini
overture, where single, closed, coherent
periods characterize the tonic and dominant
regions. In the archetypical overture strings
present the first theme and solo winds the second. The first theme is motivically conceived,
with scalar patterns predominating, and con-

structed of symmetrical, balanced phrases. As

Rossini's style develops, however, this symmetrical structure begins to be distorted; indeed, the extent of the distortion is practically
a linear function of chronology. Elements of
the period are expanded, cadences are added to
achieve greater rhythmic activity at the close,
and transitions between phrases are introduced, often occasioned by the appearance of
more remote key areas within the period. A
moderately advanced example is the first
theme from Sigismondo, used again with modifications in Otello, where a basic sixteenmeasure period of scalar triplets is forcibly restrained after the fourth and eighth measures
7

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

(ex. 4). Held notes suspend the motion, and

rests with fermatas prolong the rhythmic distortion. At the third phrase, which parallels the
first, the music is allowed to rush forward
freely, encouraged by added wind chords, and
the conclusion of the period is given further
rhythmic impetus by the cadential extension
and its concomitant crescendo.
The second, lyrical theme played by the
winds is rarely subjected to internal distortion.
Added dimension is achieved simply by repeating it with different instrumental color. The
contrast between a more motivic, structurally
freer opening theme for strings and a more lyrical, symmetrical second theme for winds parallels a functional division already observed in
the slow introduction. Even within these
limited contexts it exposes two facets of Rossini's art.
That themes in Rossini's overtures can be
isolated from their surroundings, occupy immutable positions in the scheme of the overture, and maintain definite structural properties internally suggests that specific thematic
slots within an overture might accommodate
substitute periods without excessive damage to
the whole. There are several examples of such
substitutions among Rossini's works. The
overtures of II Turco in Italia (1814), Sigismondo (1814), and Otello (1816) form a single,
interrelated complex. Sigismondo and Otello
are particularly close, although the latter is reworked and reorchestrated.A principal change
is the introduction of a new second theme, replacing one which in Sigismondo also appears
as an orchestral motive in the quartet "Genitor
... deh vien!" The substitution was obligatory

because Rossini had employed the theme from

Sigismondo in his first Neapolitan opera,
Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (1815), within
the Finale Primo. His Neapolitan audience for
Otello would have recognized the melody immediately, and Rossini was usually wise
enough to limit his self-borrowing to works
having premieres in different cities. Aesthetically, however, both second themes are perfectly acceptable, and the substitution is imperceptible. A similar situation occurs in
Matilde di Shabran, whose overture was
written originally for Eduardo e Cristina. In
8

Matilde Rossini introduces as a new second

theme a melody taken from the Finale Primo,
thereby providing a point of reference between
overture and opera. Substitutions within a
specific thematic slot are possible, then, but
the significant differences in characterbetween
first and second themes preclude interchanges
between them in our archetypical overture.
The transition linking the two themes
fulfills its classical function: modulating from
the tonic to the secondary key by arriving at
and prolonging the dominant of the new tonality. The transition is immediately set off from
the first theme by volume (it is attacked fortissimo), orchestration (it is scored for full orchestra), and phrase structure. Whereas the
themes are built from balanced phrases forming a larger,coherent period, here a single short
phrase, usually of four measures, is repeated
four or more times. Each statement is directed
to a new harmonic goal, obscuring the original
tonality and leading to the secondary key or its
dominant. Should this progressionlead directly
to the secondary key, Rossini continues to the
new dominant so as better to prepare the secondary tonal region. Poised on the dominant,
he prolongs it with short, repeatedphrases. The
volume decreases as the orchestra, which had
played together for the transition, again separates into component families. Finally the
music slips into the secondary key and the second theme.
La gazza ladra provides a good example
(ex. 5). The modulation consists of a fourfold
repetition of the initial phrase, moving from E
major to B major to E minor to D major and
then to G major, the secondary key. A new
four-measure phrase leads to the dominant, D
major, and is repeated there in varied form.
Another motivically related four-measure
phrase, over a D pedal, features a melodic line
which rises an octave, immediately followed
by a similar phrase falling an octave. Irrelevant
to our archetype but not to Rossini's artistry is
the way this second pair of phrases contracts
the intervallic structure of the first pair, reducing a varied pattern to a scalar one. A pair of
two-measure phrases over the dominant continues this process, restricting the intervals
even further, until a final phrase achieves the

PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

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Example 5

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

ultimate reduction, a repetition of the pitch D,

fortissimo for the entire orchestra, then pianissimo for strings alone. This melodic reduction,
while not affecting the rhythmic impulse of
the music, leaves it thematically neutral. The
lower winds now erase the rhythmic force as
well, suspending all motion on a dominant
chord which slowly resolves to the new tonic.
Thus effectively prepared, the second theme
can emerge resplendent.
The lyrical interlude provided by the second theme lasts but a moment, to be followed
directly by a "Rossini crescendo." This infamous device has attracted more attention than
any other aspect of Rossini's music-a dubious
distinction: and what is worse, its unique qualities have rarely been demonstrated. For some,
the presence of the familiar hairpin or the word
"crescendo" is sufficient cause to invoke the
term.9 But a Rossini crescendo is not any intensification of volume over any number of
measures, irrespective of harmonic support,
phrase structure, or formal position. We fail to
recognize its salient characteristics when we
lump together all forms of intensification of
volume and seek thereby to prove the variety of
Rossini's crescendos. They are essentially
alike, all of them.
Within the overture, Rossini invariably
places the crescendo between the second
theme and the cadence section, and except for
key and details of orchestration it is identical
in the exposition and recapitulation. The central element is a single antecedent-consequent
phrase of four, eight, or sixteen measures,
repeated three times. It can be followed by
shorter, related phrases of two, one, or one-half
measures, each repeated two, three, or four
times, with more continuous rhythmic activity. Phrase length decreases from one element
of the crescendo to the next so that phrases
renew themselves more quickly and the harmonic rhythm accelerates. In a typical crescendo the central phrase moves in the antece9Aclassical misstatement is Ada Melica's "I1crescendo"in
the Bollettino del centro rossiniano di studi, Anno 1957,
no. 5, 84-87. Even a more perceptive critic, Luigi Rognoni,
Gioacchino Rossini, 3rd edn. (Turin, 1977), p. 182, confuses matters when he claims that Rossini's overtures
often conclude with "un secondo piu folgorante 'crescendo'."
10

dent from I to V and in the consequent back

from V to I; it does not introduce other chords
and never establishes a cadential harmonic pattern, such as I-IV-V-I. As phrase length decreases, the harmonies alternate more rapidly,
but we still do not perceive the crescendo as
strongly cadential. It functions instead practically as a tonic pedal. This very impression of
stasis, though, permits Rossini to manipulate
other musical elements simultaneously.
An increase in dynamics and an accretion
of instruments further intensify the crescendo.
Changes in dynamic markings and additions of
instrumental parts are not made haphazardly,
of course, but follow the dictates of phrase
structure; changes occur at regular junctions,
either between phrases or at symmetrical
points within them. Register too enters into
the crescendo. As the dynamic level increases,
instruments appear in ever more brilliant
registers.
The crescendo from Maometto II (1822)
nicely exemplifies these characteristics (ex. 6).
The central theme, played three times, is an
eight-measure antecedent-consequent phrase,
the first half on I moving to V, the second on V
returning to I. It is followed by a one-measure
continuation, also alternating I and V, played
four times. Register is used to enhance the effect, as are instrumental entries: the first
statement of the theme is for strings, clarinets,
horns, bassoons, and tamburo, the second adds
oboes, trumpets, and timpani, and the third
adds flutes and gran cassa, providing, furthermore, an independent part for cellos,
which have hitherto played together with the
contrabass. Dynamic markings also articulate
the structure: p, cresc., f, ff, and finally tutta
forza, with the discrete levels placed at crucial points, though the effect of the crescendo
should be continuous. Rossini carefully avoids
writing cresc. at the beginning of the crescendo, and a proper interpretation demands
that the volume be held steady at piano until
the word actually appears. Indeed, the effectiveness of such a passage depends entirely on
how well a conductor can create the expectation of increased sonority without arriving
prematurely at tutta forza.
The facile Rossini crescendo, then, is a
rather sophisticated manipulation of harmonic

.
IC

PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

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rhythm, phrase structure, melodic design, register, dynamics, and instrumentation, carefully
controlled to produce the maximum effect. In
operas by Rossini's immediate predecessors,
his characteristic juxtaposition of these various
elements is not found, although passages with
increasing volume are hardly unique to Rossini.10 In its context, the Rossini crescendo remains enormously exciting, and scarcely an
opera by Donizetti, Bellini, or the young Verdi
does not emulate Rossini's design.
The cadence section which follows the
crescendo, closing the exposition, shares one
characteristic with it: the use of several elements of progressively shorter length and
correspondingly quicker harmonic rhythm,
each of which is repeated. Neither register,
dynamics, nor instrumentation is significantly
varied, however, and phrases are constructed as
full cadences, not as simple alternations of
tonic and dominant. A typical example is found
1OSee,for example, the description of a Mayr crescendo by
Ludwig Schiedermair, in his Beitrdge zur Geschichte der
Oper um die Wende des 18. und 19. Jahrh. (Simon Mayr), 2
vols. (Leipzig, 1907, 1910), I, 101-02. The more Schiedermair describes Mayr's "crescendo" the more different it
seems from the Rossini archetype.

in Semiramide whose cadences can be represented as 2x8+2x2+4x'/2.

They are
but
Rossini
loud
nicely
throughout,
uniformly
balances the winds versus the full orchestra in
the two-measure cadence (ex. 7: see page 13). It
should be added that repeated phrases of decreasing length are a feature of most Rossini
cadential passages, and are not reserved for
overtures.
The brief section leading to the recapitulation does little more than prepareharmonically
for the return of the original tonic. In Tancredi
the orchestra merely plays two measures of
chords on the tonic of the secondary key, A
major, the dominant, to the last of which the
seventh is added. The resulting dominant
seventh chord proceeds immediately to the recapitulation. I1barbiere di Siviglia has a direct,
four-measure modulation for strings alone
from G majorback to the tonic, E minor. Other
operas provide slightly longer passages, sometimes anticipating the expected first theme (as
in Semiramide), but in the archetypical overture little compositional energy is expended on
this section. Symphonic development is not a
characteristic strength of Rossini's style.
Nor did Rossini labor over his recapitulations. The first theme is reproduced literally
11

CENTURY

MUSIC

(although in a few instances it is truncated).

The second theme and crescendo are transposed to the tonic, which sometimes occasions
alterations in the orchestration. One section,
though, is especially vulnerable to change: the
transition. This section is always problematical in a sonata-form movement, since in
the recapitulation, where all thematic material
is presented in the tonic, a transition has no
inherent harmonic function. The archetype
here divides into two families, independent of
chronology. In the first, Rossini concludes the
opening theme with a deceptive cadence to
bVI,adapts the exposition transition for use in
the recapitulation, and arrives at V of I instead
of V of V. In the second he cuts out the transition entirely, proceeding directly from the first
theme (which may be truncated) to the tonic
statement of the second theme.
That the transition in the recapitulation is
an optional feature of the archetypical overture, and that Rossini feels he can eliminate it
entirely, if he chooses, is apparent from an interesting episode in the history of the overture
to II Turco in Italia. In all printed and manuscript sources of this overture,the second theme
follows the first theme in the recapitulation
without transition. The transition in the exposition corresponds in every way to the archetype, although it is among the longest
found in Rossini's overtures. A four-measure
phrase is played five times, modulating from
the tonic, D major, through A7, D7, B major, E
major, to F major as bVI, where an additional
four measures establish E major as V. The prolongation of this new dominant can be expressed as 2 x 6 + 4 x 2 + 2 x 2. After a fermata, four additional measures lead to the new
key, A major. Rossini's autograph, located in
the Archives of Casa Ricordi in Milan, reveals
that he originally prepareda transition for the
recapitulation as well. Ten measures are still
visible, although crossed out; the remainder
was on a bifolio removed early in the history of
the opera, but not before the bifolios of the
overture were numbered consecutively in the
upper left-hand comer, as was Rossini's custom. The lost bifolio bore the number "10."
The surviving, crossed-out measures are
built around the four-measure modulating
12

phrase of the transition in the exposition. Beginning on bVI, to which a typical deceptive
cadence at the end of the first theme has led,
the transition proceeds to 16, then to the minor
subdominant-but after two more measures
the fragment breaks off. On the discarded
bifolio Rossini surely continued the pattern,
arriving finally at V of I. The prolongation of
this dominant and return to the tonic for the
second theme would have been identical, except for key, to the parallel exposition passage.
The composer's decision to omit the transition
entirely in the recapitulation of II Turco in
Italia probablyreflects its length in the exposition. Following the phrase in question (ex. 8)
through another five modulating notches must
have seemed daunting even to its inventor.
After the second theme and crescendo are
stated in the tonic, the recapitulation closes
with the cadential passage. Here, too, there are
diverging branches of our archetype, and again
chronology is not a factor. Generally, Rossini
repeats the exposition cadence, adding additional cadences or a tonic prolongation at the
end. But in the other branch he ignores the exposition and introduces entirely new cadential
material. These newly composed concluding
tonic cadences usually have much the same
structure as a typical exposition cadence, but
the initial phrase is longer and a final prolongation of the tonic is added.Both modifications are
clearly appropriateto the final moments of an
overture. II barbiere di Siviglia, with which we
began consideration of the archetypical Rossini
overture, closes in an equally regular fashion
(ex. 9). After a simple, repeated two-measure
tonic cadence, the music continues with a
chromatic passage in contrary motion, arriving
sforzando at bVI(C major),which gradually resolves to the tonic. Rossini delights in coloring
cadential phrases with unexpected harmonies;
indeed, familiarity with his style leads us to
expect them.
Just as the slow introduction of I1 barbiere
di Siviglia originated within the opera for
which the overture was written, Aureliano in
Palmira, so too these final cadences served
first, in slightly different garb, to conclude Aureliano's Finale Primo. Indeed, many elements
described here as archetypical features of Ros-

A ^

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PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

M
LLmU

Example 7

r"?il11

m7IIm

rn

Example 8

ff1 r'n

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simil.

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Example 9

sini's overtures surface again in the operas

themselves. Finding such stylistic continuity
should hardly surprise us, but Rossini's characteristic and ingenious ways of adapting stylistic and structural norms to the various re-

aria,
quirements of different genres-the
duet, ensemble, and finale-prove significant
both to an understanding of the composer himself and of his influence on nineteenth-century
Italian opera.
13

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

II: THE OVERTURESOF ROSSINI'S FIRST PERIOD

Defining an archetype of this kind, while a

harmless and amusing activity in itself, is truly
valuable only in proportion to the insight it affords when we consider actual music. By establishing the archetypical Rossini overture we
open two important paths for further investigation. First, we gain a model against which to
view Rossini's compositional development.
With variants from the archetype arranged
chronologically, we can then test attributions
of dubious pedigree, confident that problems of
authenticity can begin to be resolved.
Rossini's overtures fall chronologically
into five groups, correspondingto the principal
periods of his operatic career. No periodization
is ever absolute, of course, and the chronological models are as provisional as structural
archetypes. This particular division, however,
reflects well Rossini's developing approach to
the overture, and proves equally fruitful for a
consideration of other aspects of his operas.
Seen through the perspective of an idealized archetype, Rossini's enormous artistic growth
during the twenty years from Demetrio e
Polibio to Guillaume Tell can be fully appreciated. Here, however, we can consider only
his first period.
Rossini divided his earliest career between
Bologna, as a Conservatory student and assistant at the Teatro Communale, and Venice, as
a fledgling composer writing one-act farse for
the Teatro San Mose. This small, experimental
theater offered Rossini and other composers of
his generation, such as Pietro Generali and
Carlo Coccia, the opportunity to write and
mount short operas without the emotional
burdens and financial risks of composing for a
major house. The experience was invaluable to
a young aspirant even if his opera failed to
please. Fully five of Rossini's early operas were
preparedfor the San Mose, works clearly demonstrating his youthful skill. These Venetian
successes generated a major commission (for
the Teatro alla Scala of Milan), La pietra del
paragone, whose resounding acclaim guaranteed Rossini a steady supply of future commissions.
A summary account of Rossini's early
14

overtures is given in table 1. Each of the nine

operas has an overture, except L'occasione fa
il ladro, where a standard slow introduction
prefaces an orchestral Tempesta, which leads
in tur directly to the Introduzione. Since a
storm is actually raging as the opera begins,
motives from the Tempesta can recur to link
the "Sinfonia e Introduzione." Two overtures,
well known to students of Rossini's music, are
works written at the Conservatory in Bologna:
one (the Sinfonia in Eb of 1809) became the
overture to La cambiale di matrimonio, Rossini's first performed opera, while a theme
from the other (the Sinfonia in D of 1808) was
reused in his overture to L'inganno felice. At
least five operas have overtures written expressly for them (Demetrio e Polibio, L'inganno
felice, La scala di seta, La pietra del paragone,
and II signor Bruschino). An alternative overture exists in some sources for La scala di seta,
however, which will be examined in part III.
The overture to L'inganno felice was reused
two months after the premiere of that opera in
Rossini's next work for the stage, Ciro in
Babilonia, presumably due to intolerable pressures of time. The case of L'equivoco stravagante, for which several different overtures
are found among contemporary sources, will
also be considered in part III.
Of particular interest are the two sinfonie
in D, "al Conventello" and "obbligata a contrabasso." They were recently discovered in
manuscript copies (not autographs) at the Istituto Musicale 'G. Verdi' of Ravenna by the
Italian musicologist Paolo Fabbri.11Both these
works will be examined in part III.The present
discussion focuses on overtures whose authenticity is unquestioned.
The early overtures, thematically and programmatically independent of the operas they
introduce, demonstrate Rossini's striving toward a personal compositional identity. Ele-

"Fabbri announces his discovery in an important article

appearingnow in the Bollettino del centro rossiniano di
studi, "Presenzerossiniane negli archivi ravennati:due inediti, un autografoed altro." I wish to thank Dottor Bruno
Cagli, artistic directorof the FondazioneRossini, for bringing this material to my attention and supplying facsimiles
of the manuscripts.

PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

OF THEFIRSTPERIOD:THEEARLYOPERASAND FARSE(1808-1813)
OVERTURES
COMMENT

OPERA

OVERTURE

DATE

Sinfonia "al Conventello"

in D

1806-07(?) First theme reused in II signor Bruschino (1813); see

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 matrimonio (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 mIof 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
overture

1812

A "Sinfonia e Introduzione," continuing directly

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
cohere. By La pietra del paragone every section
is externally in place, while most have also
achieved their characteristic internal form. But
working within still flexible constraints, Rossini created outstanding overtures, such as La
scala di seta and II signor Bruschino, whose
singularities of structure are part of their
natural appeal.
In his very earliest overtures, however,
Demetrio e Polibio and the two Bolognese sinfonie, Rossini struggles with a form he has not
mastered. So structurally flawed is the Sinfonia
in Eb that the composer's efforts to revise it for
La cambiale di matrimonio created new problems as formidable as the old. One understands
his apparent fondness for the piece, since the
thematic material is appealing and fresh, but
the structure of the quick main section remains incoherent in both versions. The first
theme is a simple sixteen-measure period,
whose opening harmonic motion in twomeasure segments from V7 to I and then from

V7 of V to V is particularly nice (ex. 10a, page

17). An appropriatefour-measurephrase begins
the transition, but it leads from I back to I.
We now anticipate moving away from the tonic,
but instead the phrase is repeated without
harmonic change. Selecting part of this phrase,
Rossini then continues to vi, to IV, and finally,
either in ignorance or in childish revolt, to V of
... I. He prolongs this dominant to arrive at the

second theme presented in the original tonic,

Eb major (ex. 10b). Yet another theme is presented (twice) in Eb major, an eight-measure
phrase featuring the horn, resembling in structure a crescendo but not so treated in dynamics
or orchestration (ex. 10c). In the original version eight additional measures on the tonic,
cut in the revision, closed this pseudo-second
group.
One wants to believe that Rossini had precise artistic aims in assigning what appears
thematically to be a second group to the original tonic, but comparison of the differing consequences of this structural abnormality in the
15

19TH

CENTURY

MUSIC

two versions precludes this assumption. In the

original version the transition material now returns and modulates to the correct secondary
key, Bb major, where Rossini presents second
theme, crescendo-like phrase, and eight additional measures, thus repeating the entire second group in its "correct" key. None of this
material recurs at all in the recapitulation, so
that after the second group has appearedtwice
in the exposition, first in I, then in V, it never
appears again. Unhappy with this flouting of
the sonata principle, perhaps, for La cambiale
di matrimonio Rossini recapitulates the second theme and the crescendo-like phrase in the
tonic (the eight additional measures are cut
throughout). Rather than present the entire
second group three times, he decides to abbreviate one of the exposition statements; but
instead of cutting anything in the initial tonic
appearance, he eliminates the crescendo-like
phrase in the dominant. This phrase consequently never appearsin any key but the tonic,
even though it belongs unquestionably to the
second group. These manipulations lay bare
a composer unsure of himself and grappling,
not always successfully, with problems of
formal structure. That the overture nonetheless succeeds in some respects is a tribute to
Rossini's melodic and rhythmic gifts, but these
gifts desperately needed to be harnessed.
Not only the modern critic finds the structure of Rossini's earliest overtures suspect. In
the 1820s the Viennese firm of A. Diabelli et
Comp. published a piano reduction of the overture to Demetrio e Polibio.12 This overture is
structurally even stranger than the Sinfonia in
Eb. Some problems are minor-the irregular
transition, the long, rambling, unbalanced second theme, the awkward attempt at a development section. But the major difficulty is
that Rossini seems committed to avoiding a
regular recapitulation at whatever the cost.
Diabelli was prepared to publish almost any
Rossini overture for the hungry Viennese, but

12Acopy of this print (pl. no. D. et C. n?.466) is found in the

BavarianNational Libraryin Munich (4? Mus. pr. 36860).
This Diabelli version is unique; other publishers,including
Steiner in Vienna, Ricordi, etc., issued piano reductions of
the original version.
16

this piece he seems to have found unacceptable. To salvage the situation the publishercomposer had Rossini's overture regularized.
The transition was straightened out, the second theme was recast, and, most important, a
new, "correct" recapitulation was substituted
for the original. Diabelli's publication stands as
an amusing act of academic criticism, foisted
on a youthful overture which badly needed the
red pencil of Padre Mattei, Rossini's composition teacher at the Bologna Liceo Musicale.
By 1812, with the overture to L'inganno
felice, the essential outlines of the archetype
are present, though some details remain primitive. Least well defined is the slow introduction. L'inganno felice, in which the development of an opening antecedent-consequent
phrase leads directly to the dominant prolongation, lacks an internal lyrical period. In La
pietra del paragone there is a section with the
function of a lyrical period, a moment of respite between the opening phrase and the dominant prolongation, but the characteristic
melodic quality is not present. Instead, delicate
imitative passages in the winds are highlighted
over a pizzicato string accompaniment. Both
La scala di seta and I1 signor Bruschino are
more than a little unusual, as we shall see. Indeed, although it does not preface a regular
overture, the slow introduction to L'occasione
fa il ladro is closest to the archetype among
these early works.
Once the main section begins, every element of these overtures is in its proper place.
The thematic groups are distinctly formed, although first themes are not quite as sharply differentiated from second themes as they ultimately will become, while transitions and
crescendos are still developing their characteristic shapes. In L'inganno felice the transition begins with an appropriate four-measure
phrase, which promptly returns to the tonic
and is repeated there, as in the Sinfonia in
Eb; a new two-measure idea continues to
emphasize I, but its repetition finally veers off
toward vi. Unlike the earlier overture, L'inganno felice now continues properly to V of V,
using material reminiscent of but not identical
to the opening four-measure phrase (ex. 11).
Both the characterof the thematic material and
the harmonic goal are correct; only the internal

a.
LA 2 1o

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F I I I1 rh b

PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

, f,

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if
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Example 11

shape so characteristic of Rossini's mature

transitions remains absent. Neither the prolongation of V of V nor the resolution to the
main tonic deviates from the archetype.
In each of the other overtures, La scala di
seta, La pietra del paragone, and II signor Bruschino, the opening transition idea is played
three times and functions correctly as a modulating phrase. La pietra del paragone, exceptionally, adopts a six-measure phrase, but
employs it in a standard fashion to move first
from I to I, then from I to vi, and finally from vi
to V of V, which is prolonged until the second
theme begins. After II signor Bruschino every

overture with a standard transition will repeat

the opening phrase at least four or even five
times. These early overtures, then, are partly
characterized by the relatively smaller proportions of their transitions.
Smaller proportions typify also the crescendos. In L'ingannofelice, the first overtureto
have a proper crescendo, a two-measure module is played three times, followed by a halfmeasure continuation played four times (3 x 2
+ 4 x 1/2).Perhaps because of this crescendo's

brevity Rossini inserts another passage between the second theme and the crescendo,
2 x 2, which remains pianissimo throughout.
17

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

It is ratherlike a crescendo in style, but instead

of alternating between I and V, this "precrescendo" alternates between I and IV (ex. 12).
In La scala di seta the pre-crescendo is expanded to 2 x 4 (I-IV-I), while the crescendo
has three elements: 4 x 2 + 2 x 1 + 4 x

/2

(each proceeding I-V-I). Rossini continues to

use pre-crescendos alternating between tonic
and subdominant in two of his next three overtures, II signor Bruschino and L'Italiana in Algeri, even though the main crescendo phrase is
expanded to the standardfour measures. In La
pietra del paragone, however, he abandons the
pre-crescendo, and after L'Italiana it is never
employed again, although a memory of it exists
in Aureliano in Palmira, the future overture
to II barbiere di Siviglia. Here the pre-crescendo theme (2 x 4) has the harmonic structure I-V-I. It shows no dynamic intensification, though it does add new instruments for
the repetition. The main theme of the crescendo proper (3 x 4 + 4 x 1) differentiates itself harmonically from the pre-crescendoby alternating tonic and dominant more rapidly (ex.
13). This is, indeed, the only crescendo theme
among the overtures to introduce so many
harmonic changes internally. Surely the relationship between this theme and its precrescendo is responsible for Rossini's procedure here.
Written before the archetype had fully congealed, the early overtures occasionally diverge
from it markedly. Several, including Demetrio
e Polibio, the Sinfonia in D (1808), and La scala
di seta, have development sections. Rossini's
technique in them is simplistic, largely limited
to stating the second theme in a foreign key.
He learned to avoid this redundancy by suppressing development sections altogether.
More positively, Rossini's experiments resulted in two of his loveliest overtures, La scala
di seta and II signor Bruschino. Each approaches the mature archetype, but is further
dominated by a unique musical idea: in La
scala di seta the characteristic use of the wind
ensemble as a concertante, in I1 signor Bruschino the wonderful and absurd effect of violins tapping their bows rhythmically against
the metal shades of their candle-holders, or
(less authentically) against their music stands.
18

La scala di seta opens with a few quick

measures, violins and violas racing down the
scale to a tonic chord played by the entire orchestra. Now the wind band, a flute, two oboes,
two clarinets, two horns, and a bassoon, separates itself and unveils an Andantino introduction without strings. It is a beautiful passage,
constantly varied in texture by Rossini's care
to assign solos in turn to oboe, flute, and horn
(ex. 14). The introduction seems to approach a
full cadence in the tonic, but at the last moment the winds repeat and sustain a dominant
seventh chord. Instead of resolving the dissonance Rossini begins the first theme of the
quick section still on the dominant, played by
first violins alone. Only when the other strings
enter with a pizzicato accompaniment does the
tonic appear.The theme is in constant motion.
Although its main element is essentially six
measures long, extended upbeats and transitions perpetually dance the phrase structure
away from regularity. The antecedent closes in
V, the consequent moves towards I but stops
short before the resolution, as at the end of the
slow introduction. Again poised on V, Rossini
repeats the entire theme for winds alone, led by
the solo oboe (ex. 15). Finally it does resolve to
the tonic as the transition begins; the extended
phrase, avoided cadences, and separation of
the instrumental groups make this resolution
with full orchestra welcome indeed. Concertante use of the wind instruments continues
throughout the overture, in the second theme,
"pre-crescendo,"and development section, giving the entire piece a wonderful feeling of
lightness and grace.
Fifty years after the great Rossini biographerGiuseppe Radiciotti destroyed the myth
of II signor Bruschino's being a jest at the expense of the impresario,13the story regrettably
continues to circulate, doubly regrettable because this is perhaps the best of Rossini's early
farse-comic, witty, and sentimental by turns.
The tapping bows in the overture are delightful, both for the novelty of the idea and for the
natural and logical way the effect is woven into
13Radiciottirecounts the history in his Gioacchino Rossini: vita documentata, opere ed influenza su l'arte, 3 vols.
(Tivoli, 1927-29), I, 88-95.

PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

I
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rinforzando

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a.

fdolceTtiffffr Itr
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fl.

Example 14

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pizzicato

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fetc.

Example 15

19

CENTURY
C9NTURY

MUSIC

the composition. There is an introduction, but

it is not slow. Instead, the overture is attacked
Allegro with a theme more sharply etched
rhythmically than melodically, moving from V
of ii to ii, then repeated a step lower to close on
the tonic. The ensuing idea is rhythmically
analogous (ex. 16).It develops into a full period,
ultimately settling on V. The prolongation of V
uses melodic figures based on the opening
theme, but also reduces that theme to its
rhythmic component alone by means of the
tapping bows (ex. 17). The main section of the
overture, which preserves the same tempo, is
thoroughly standard in construction, but each
time a dominant harmony is prolonged to prepare a new section-at the end of the transition
in the exposition, before the recapitulation,
and at the end of the transition in the
recapitulation-Rossini returns to this music
from the introduction, both the melodic figure
and the tapping bows. The overture is permeated by this effect, so that in the midst of
the lyrical second theme, played in octaves by
flute and clarinet, the composer cannot resist
yet another reference (ex. 18). Even in the final
prolongation of the tonic at the end of the overture, Rossini has the violinists tap their bows
in rhythm a last time, humorously recalling
within the concluding bluster the rhythmic
gesture which gave birth to the entire overture.
The overture to I1 signor Bruschino is, on
one level, simply an amusing tour de force, but
it comes significantly on the threshold of Rossini's maturity. Beginning his career only a few
years earlier, he had barely known how to construct an overture at all. By 1813 all significant elements of the fully developed archetype
were in place. Rossini had inverted and mastered the genre. In II signor Bruschino he also
learned to delight in it.

III: OVERTURES
OF UNCERTAINAUTHENTICITY
FROMROSSINI'SFIRSTPERIOD

There are good reasons to remain cautious in

using stylistic evidence to develop or test attributions, but unless studies of style can assist
us in grappling with these matters, they are of
limited value. We must continually apply what
we have learned and be willing to live with the
20

inevitable uncertainties; no matter how much

we refine our tools, unequivocal statements of
attribution on stylistic grounds will always be
logically impossible. The behavior of human
beings, especially composers, is not fully predictable. Yet neither is the weather, neither is
the motion of elementary particles under observation, neither are the vagaries of the national economy. We must seek a middle
ground between those who are only too ready
to accept an attribution because "it sounds
like" a composer, and those who categorically
refuse to accept stylistic evidence as a determining factor for the attribution of a work.
Documentary evidence may indeed seem
to hold out hopes for complete objectivity, and
it would be folly to ignore the tremendous advances made in the past twenty years in the
study of manuscripts, archives, the history of
publishing, and so on. But documentary evidence is generally insufficient. Some manuscript copies or printed editions to which no
primary value as sources can be assigned do
nonetheless preserve authentic compositions;
some preserve spurious ones. Only by drawing
on the resources of both approaches, documentary evidence and stylistic analysis, can we
hope to achieve significant results.
Among the early group of Rossini overtures, doubts might exist about the authenticity of four pieces, including the two newly
discovered overtures in D ("al Conventello"
and "obbligata a contrabasso"), the overture to
L'equivoco stravagante, and that to La scala di
seta. It is worth examining each case in detail,
both for the intrinsic interest of the works
themselves and to demonstrate the strengths
and limitations of the system of formal and
stylistic analysis developed in parts I and II. We
shall begin with two examples where results
are decisive: La scala di seta and the Sinfonia
in D "al Conventello." The other two problematical cases, the Sinfonia in D "obbligata a
contrabasso" and L'equivoco stravagante, will
not permit equally positive responses, but the
evidence nonetheless deserves consideration.
La scala di seta. After its Venetian premiere
on 9 May 1812, at the Teatro San Mose, La
scala di seta was rarely revived during Rossini's lifetime. Radiciotti lists four occasions,

PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

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Example 18

for none of which has a printed libretto been

located: Senigallia in the summer of 1813,
Venice in 1818, Siena (Teatro dei Rinnovati)
during the Carnival season of 1821, and finally
Lisbon (Teatro S. Carlos) in January 1825.14
Loewenberg adds a performance in Barcelona
on 4 August 1823.15There is no evidence whatsoever that Rossini participated in any of these
revivals.
Although Rossini's autographscore has not
been located, at least five complete manuscripts of La scala di seta exist. Two of them, in
the Bibliotheque du Conservatoire in Paris and
14Radicotti,m, 194.
s1AlfredLoewenberg, Annals of Opera 1596-1940, 2nd
edn. (Geneva, 1955), 2 vols., I, column 627.

the Library of Congress in Washington, were

prepared in Venice in the copisteria of
Giacomo Zamboni, who was attached to the
Teatro San Mose. They are excellent copies,
presumably prepared at the time of the first
performances. The Washington copy has the
standard overture; the Parisian copy lacks the
overture but has bound in its place an orchestral part for cello and bass, identical to that of
the Washington overture. A manuscript copy
of the overture alone exists in the Ravenna collection described by Fabbri, with the title:
"Sinfonia / Del Maestro Rossini / Nella Scala di
Seta / in Ravenna 1813" and the name of Rossini's close friend from Ravenna, "Sig:rAgostino Triossi." This piece appears finally in the
only nineteenth-century editions of La scala di
21

19TH

CENTURY

MUSIC

seta: a reduction for piano and voice published

by Ricordi in ca. 1852 from a manuscript in the
Ricordi Archives destroyed during World War
II, and a reduction for piano solo published in
Vienna by Sauer & Leidesdorf in the early
1820s.
The other three surviving manuscripts, in
the conservatories of Florence and Brussels and
in the Boston Public Library,lack any indication of provenance. They essentially follow the
Venetian copies, with one major exception: the
overture shared by all three manuscripts is not
the standardone. Yet another manuscript copy
of this overture exists, an extract in the Civico
Museo Bibliografico Musicale in Bologna, acquired in 1969. Its title page, written in the
hand of the same copyist who prepared the
music, reads: "La Scala di Seta / Farsa/ Del
Sig:r Giovac:"nRossini."
There are no biographical or archival
grounds for thinking that Rossini composed an
alternative overture for La scala di seta. It is
conceivable that the manuscript available for
some projected or actual performance contained only the bass part of the overture, as in
the source preserved in Paris. Another musician may thus have been obliged to supply an
overture of his own composition to replace the
missing one. Surviving copies may derive from
that occasion, and careful study and reconstruction of the filiation among sources might
prove useful in testing this hypothesis.
On musical grounds, however, this alternative overture to La scala di seta must surely be
dismissed as unauthentic. To begin with, its
composer quotes two Rossinian melodies in
full, both written during the winter of 181617. There are no instances in which Rossini
quotes melodies from an earlier overture in the
body of a later opera unless he intends to preface the latter with the same overture.16There
is only one case in which Rossini quotes a
melody from the body of an earlier opera in a
later overture (unless he also reuses the melody
within the new opera). The second theme of
'6Although in Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra he does
quote a melody from the overture to Sigismondo, the
melody had also occurred within the body of the latter opera. (See above, p. 8).

22

Bianca e Falliero paraphrases a tune from an

Act I duet of La donna del lago, but it is a fairly
nondescript melody and Rossini's self-borrowing may well have been practically unintentional. The same cannot be said for the
themes quoted in the alternative overture to La
scala di seta. One is from Otello, the cabaletta
theme, "Amor di rada il nembo," of Otello's
cavatina, which in the overture becomes the
second theme; the other is from La Cenerentola, the orchestral passage played in the Finale
Primo to herald the approach of the disguised
Cenerentola at Don Ramiro's ball (ex. 19). In
the overture the latter appears after the second theme in the recapitulation, but significantly there is no analogous passage in the
exposition. This is only one of the many structural problems in this overture.
A sampling of the stylistic grounds for denying the attribution of this overture to Rossini would include the following:
1) The overture is scored for strings, one
flute, two clarinets, two horns, two trumpets,
and one bassoon. No other Rossini overture
lacks oboes, and oboes are part of the instrumentation of the opera itself-in which,
however, trumpets are not present. The original overture has the same instrumentation as
the remainder of the opera.
2) The slow introduction never departs
from its tonic, C major. Every phrase comes to
a full cadence; there is not even a prolongation
of the dominant to preparethe quick main section. No other Rossini overture behaves in this
manner.

3) No second theme in a Rossini overture,

not even those deriving from vocal models, diverges as completely from the standard
periodic construction of the archetypical second theme as does this melody, derived from
Otello. It follows a pattern often found among
Rossini's cabalettas, however, a pattern one
might label "linear."A linear theme consists of
a basic thematic idea; a continuation, harmonically static and usually repeated, which for
want of a better term might be called a "holding pattern"; and an extended, often florid cadence (see ex. 19a). This procedure for building
a melody is very different from the techniques
used by Bellini or Verdi. Exploration of linear

PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

clar.

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ttVaIt~T

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Example 19

melody in Rossini would lead us too far afield.

Suffice it to say that such a tune has no place in
a Rossini overture.
4) A passage marked crescendo a poco a
poco follows the second theme in the exposition, and its external structure (4 x 4 + 4 x 1)
agrees with the structure of a normal Rossini
crescendo. The composer of the overture did
not understand how Rossini scores his crescendos, however, and so the first two statements of the four-measurephrase are played by
strings alone, while the last two statements
and continuation are played by the entire orchestra. No authentic Rossini crescendo is
scored in this manner.
5) The first group in the recapitulation is
allowed to resolve on the tonic, and only
within the transition does the music begin to
diverge. Within Rossini's overtures, if a transition is used in the recapitulation, the first
group invariably concludes with a movement
to bVI.
6) The crescendo of the exposition does
not reappearin the recapitulation. In its place

is found the theme quoted from La Cenerentola (ex. 19b), followed by yet another unrelated theme in C major, which can be represented as 2 x 8 + 2 x 4. This theme with its
continuation probably was intended to function as a tonic crescendo, but once again the
scoring bears no relation to Rossini's characteristic procedures. In any case, substitution of
the exposition crescendo theme by another in
the recapitulation never occurs in Rossini's authentic overtures.
These are only the most obvious ways in
which this alternative overture to La scala di
seta differs from Rossini's practice. Its
peculiarities cannot be dismissed by calling the
composition early, since no overture, not even
La cambiale di matrimonio, sins in anything
like so many ways. The nature of the sources
makes this overture suspect; its stylistic and
structural anomalies dismiss it from further
consideration. There is no period in Rossini's
life to which it could be assigned without constructing an elaborate and ultimately unsatisfactory series of hypotheses.
23

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

Sinfonia in D "al Conventello." The investigations of Paolo Fabbri into Rossini's connections with Ravenna have illuminated significantly a portion of the composer's childhood.17 As early as 1803 the eleven-year-old
Rossini became acquainted with Agostino
Triossi, a wealthy merchant from Ravenna
twice his age. Triossi was an amateur musician
and seems to have recognized the boy's talent.
For Triossi and his friends Rossini composed
his six Sonate a quattro, as attested to by Rossini's autograph inscription, added late in his
life on the set of manuscript parts extant at the
Libraryof Congress in Washington:
Six horrendous sonatas composed by me at the

summerhouse (nearRavenna)of my friendandpatronAgostinoTriossi,when I was at the most infantile age,not havingyet takeneven a singlelesson in
accompaniment:
they wereall composedandcopied
in threedays,andperformedterriblyby Triossi,contrabass;Morini(his cousin),first violin; the latter's
brother,violoncello;and the secondviolin by myself, who was, to tell the truth,the least terrible.18
Triossi was later responsible for a commission
Rossini obtained to compose a Mass for the
Cathedral of Ravenna in 1808, a manuscript
copy of which exists in the Archivio Arcivescovile of Ravenna. Among Fabbri'sdiscoveries
in the Istituto Musicale 'G. Verdi' of Ravenna
is the autograph manuscript of the Gratias
from this Mass.
There are seventeen manuscripts in the
collection described by Fabbri,a disproportionate number of which stem from Rossini's early
career. In addition to the Gratias, the only autograph, the collection comprises: a complete
score and set of parts for Rossini's cantata, II
pianto d'Armonia, written in 1808 for the
Liceo Musicale of Bologna; a set of manuscript
7See the study by Fabbricited in fn. 11.
'8"Sei Sonate orrende da me composte alla villeggiatura
(presoRavenna)del mio amico mecenate, Agostino Triossi
alla eta la pii Infantile non avendo neppureuna Lezione di
accompagnamento, il Tutto composto e copiato in Tre
Giomi ed eseguita cagnescamente dal Triossi Contrabasso,
Morini (di lui Cugino) Primo Violino, I1fratello di questo ii
Violoncello, ed il Secondo Violino da me stesso, che ero per
dir ver il meno cane." The autograph inscription is reprinted in facsimile by Alfredo Casella in his article "Una
ignota 'Sonata' per archi di Gioacchino Rossini," in Rossiniana (Bologna, 1942), pp. 37-39. The six sonatas are
edited in vol. I (Pesaro, 1954) of the Quaderni rossiniani.
24

parts identified as the overture of L'equivoco

stravagante (Bologna, 1811), to be discussed below; a faithful copy, dated, "in Ravenna 1813,"
of the overture to La scala di seta (Venice
1812); three numbers from L'equivoco stravagante, to which sacred texts have been added
by "Sig:r Giuseppe Forlivesi" of Ravenna;19
and most importantly, manuscript copies of
two previously unknown overtures ascribed
to Rossini, both of which Fabbri accepts as
authentic. We shall test these attributions
here employing the techniques developed
above.
The Sinfonia in D "al Conventello" is the
simpler case. Conventello was a country home
near Ravenna owned by Triossi, probably the
one referred to in Rossini's inscription on the
six sonatas. The frontispiece of the manuscript
reads: "Sinfonia / Scritta al Conventello [erased
word] per il Sig.r Agostino Triossi /Del Sig.r
Maestro Gioachino Russini [sic]." This association with Triossi and Conventello is itself
suggestive, though the manuscript is sloppily
copied. A "Violoncello obbligato" part, for
example, is a measure off for much of the overture; when it straightens out, the bass line
races a measure ahead. But the reliability of the
copy is not our primary concern; these errors
are obvious and easily corrected. The central
issue is whether the circumstantial evidence
of the piece's provenance and non-autograph
identification can be supported stylistically.
An external relationship is immediately
striking: the first theme of the quick main section, Allegro, of the Sinfonia in D "al Conventello" was reused practically without change as
the corresponding theme in II signor Bruschino. Rossini similarly reused a theme from
the previously known Sinfonia in D (1808) in an
early opera overture, and adopted his Sinfonia
in Eb (1809), with some changes, for La cambiale di matrimonio (1810).20As no later ties
between Rossini and Triossi are known, the
'9Fabbriidentifies Forlivesi as a tenor who ran a singing
school in Ravenna around 1812. Since Rossini's opera was
not revived later, these manuscripts are presumably not
much later than 1812.
2OFabbri
claims that several other themes are related to
ideas in the orchestral introduction to II pianto d'Armonia, but these are more generic relationships, neither
direct nor even indirect citations.

a.

PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

llL
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Example 20

Sinfonia "al Conventello," if it is by Rossini,

should precede the overture to II signor Bruschino. This is borne out by the formal structure
of the newly discovered overture.
The Sinfonia "al Conventello" shares
many significant characteristics with the earliest Rossini overtures. Its slow introduction
only hints at a lyrical period. The first theme,
later quoted in II signor Bruschino, is followed
by a transition (ex. 20a) which fails to modulate
properly. Its opening four-measure phrase
could easily have been developed into an archetypical transition, but in fact it seesaws
twice from I to V to I, then struggles pointlessly
to reach A major as V, its very point of departure. This ability to define musical ideas but
lack of control over their direction is a mark of
the young Rossini. Peculiarly, it is the second,
lyrical theme that provides the modulation. A
first phrase, played by solo cello (ex. 20b),
closes on the dominant; it is repeated by the
first violin, now modulating finally to A major.
Though Rossini characteristically highlights
solo winds in the second group, here the cello
emerges as soloist instead, perhaps played by
one of Triossi's friends or even by "the least
terrible" of the string players, Gioacchino Rossini. The non-modulating transition is repeated
almost intact in the new key, making way for a
repetition of the second theme, now given in

the dominant, A major, without an internal

modulation. The transition recurs, finally with
a tonal function as it leads back to D major for
the recapitulation of the first theme. The opening measures of the transition are heard yet
again, in the tonic, but cadences immediately
ensue and the Sinfonia "al Conventello"
comes to a close.
A transition within the quick main section
which fails to modulate; a second theme first
heard in the tonic, and only then in the dominant, but never recapitulated in the tonic; the
absence of a crescendo: we recognize every one
of these divergencies from the archetype. The
Sinfonia in D "al Conventello" shares them
with Demetrio e Polibio and the Sinfonia in Eb
(La cambiale di matrimonio). It is charming,
slight work, but there can be little question
about its authenticity. Externally and internally the piece proves itself a significant addition to the canon of Rossini juvenilia.
Sinfonia in D "obbligata a contrabasso." The
apparent authenticity of the Sinfonia "al Conventello" should augur well for the other new
overture, whose manuscript occurs in the same
collection. But its title page has no specific link
with Tirossi: "Sinfonia / Del Sig. Maestro Rossini / obbligata a Contrabasso." Nor does its
first page, where the title is: "Grand'Overtura
25

19TH

MUSIC

obbligata / a Contrabasso," with the last word

erased.21 None of its themes recur in other
Rossini compositions, and as we examine the
overture more closely many other doubts
emerge.
The disposition of the instruments in the
manuscript and the orchestration as well are
unusual for Rossini. In his mature works, after
ca. 1812, Rossini consistently laid out his autographswith violins on top followed by violas.
Winds came next-flutes, oboes, clarinets,
then horns, trumpets, bassoons, trombones,
timpani, violoncellos, and contrabass. Among
Rossini's earlier works, a variant is sometimes
found: violas are grouped with the bass instruments near the bottom of the score, rather
than appearingafter the violins at the top. This
is the arrangementin the autographof II pianto
d'Armonia (1808), for example, and in the copy
of the Sinfonia "al Conventello" discussed
above. No work by Rossini to our knowledge,
however, is laid out as is the Sinfonia
"obbligata a contrabasso," with staves assigned, from the top down, to corni, flauto,
oboS, clarinetti, violini [I and II], viole,
fagotto, trombone, violoncello, and basso.
Placing the violins in the middle of the score is
contrary to Rossini's practice.
Equally puzzling is the presence of the
trombone, for Rossini does not use trombones
in any other early overture. Indeed, trombones
first unequivocally appear among Rossini's
overtures in II Turco in Italia (1814). What is
more, there are no trumpets in the score, and
nowhere else does Rossini fail to use trumpets
in a piece containing a part for trombone. Still,
it is possible that a copyist reversed the orderof
instruments from that of the autograph or was
assembling the score from parts, just as Rossini
may have been writing for a certain body of
available musicians. We cannot, in short, rely
too heavily on evidence of this type.
The structure of this overture follows a
more traditional outline than the very earliest
Rossini overtures. According to Fabbri, "Because of its shape, which conforms more to
21The "obbligata a Contrabasso" is really a misnomer.
There are solos for the bass in this overture, but the contrabass are always combined with violoncellos and bassoon.
26

classical rules and models, one can assign this

overture to Rossini's years of Bolognese contrapuntal study (1807-10)... ." The overture
begins with a plausible slow introduction,
whose opening phrase differentiates a loud
tutti from a softer continuation, mixing strings
and winds. Its varied repetition proceeds forcefully to the dominant, where a standard Rossinian prolongation-repeated one-measure
phrases decreasing in volume and generally
shifting downward in register-concludes the
introduction on V. The absence of a lyrical
theme marks this overture, should it be by
Rossini, as early.
The opening theme of the quick main section, while free of the standardscalar figuration
so common in Rossini overtures, is certainly
well within Rossini's style (ex. 21); its similarity to the stretta of the first-act Finale in II barbiere di Siviglia is palpable evidence. A single
period of thirty-two measures, its sixteenmeasure antecedent is played by the first violins, accompanied by lower strings, moving to
V; in the consequent, which returns to I, the
melody occurs in violoncellos, contrabass, and
bassoon, with piquant interjections from the
winds between phrases. The most unusual aspect of this theme, however, is the contrapuntal play in the third phrase of both halves.
Though the phrase is neither elaborate nor entirely felicitous (violas and first violins approach their fourth awkwardly in similar motion, with the larger leap on top), we do not
normally expect to find such passages in a Rossinian first theme.
Both for its familiar basic material and its
failure to employ it according to the archetype,
the transition is thoroughly in the Rossinian
manner for his early period. As in the Sinfonia
"al Conventello," the music seesaws twice
from I to V and back, exhausting its potential
before exploiting it (ex. 22). Horns pick up the
F#, transforming it to the root of F# major.
From there the music shifts sequentially, before coming to rest on E major as V of V, whose
prolongation is thoroughly standard. The final
approach to the new tonic features solo winds
in turn (oboe, then flute, finally clarinet).
This emphasis on winds at the end of the
transition leads naturally to a second theme
begun by strings alone. The theme is unusually

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PHILIP GOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

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Example23
long for a Rossini overture (twenty-four measures), somewhat banal melodically and dull
harmonically. The melody recovers towards its
cadence, where the first violins' tune is doubled by the flute. Now the entire theme is repeated in the winds. Its first phrase is treated
contrapuntally, with a lovely imitation between clarinet and flute (ex. 23); the second
phrase is parcelled out among oboe, flute, and

clarinet, but violoncellos, contrabass, and bassoon supply yet another counterpoint beneath,
based on the first phrase. An interest in contrapuntal elaboration begins to seem characteristic of this piece. The harmonic regularity
and melodic simplicity of the second theme
may well be due to its composer's desire to
work these imitations into the body of his
overture.
27

19TH

CENTURY
MUSIC

There is no crescendo. Instead the music

proceeds directly to cadences. A standard cadential phrase opens the section, based on the
opening phrase of the second theme, but it is
varied on its repetition. The opening forte becomes piano and the initial A major becomes A
minor, though both the original dynamic level
and modality are restored at the end of this varied repeat. Additional cadences close the exposition. A first violin solo, constructed from
fragments of the second theme, leads back to
the tonic and to the recapitulation. Most of this
is perfectly compatible with a stylistic attribution to Rossini, particularly in his early years.
The opening of the recapitulation is abbreviated: only the consequent of the opening
theme is played, nor is it allowed to finish. Instead, it moves abruptlyto the transition (using
a V-VI progression), which consequently
opens in B major. Here the transition phrase
behaves the way a mature Rossinian transition
phrase should, proceeding in four-measure
units from B major, to E minor, to D7, to G
major, and finally to A major as V. The prolongation follows the exposition as does the second theme, played twice in the tonic. The orchestration centers both times on the winds,
and counterpoints pop up throughout the instruments, encouraged by the simplistic
tonic-dominant harmonies which underlie the
entire section. The very last chord, however, is
unexpectedly D minor, rather than D major.
Instead of the opening cadential phrase, we
hear its modified repetition, beginning in
minor and closing in major. This in turn appears to lead to the D-major version; but just as
we are settling down for the remainder of the
cadences, the first violins are abandoned to
play a descending chromatic line. The strings
softly pause on a dominant chord, and then
there is silence.
Something momentous is obviously being
prepared.A low D sounds in the violoncellos
alone. As it continues the horns begin the
second theme as the violas and bassoon simultaneously embrace the first theme in
counterpoint-bad counterpoint, with parallel
octaves and improperly resolving dissonances
(ex. 24). In particular, the coordination of the

28

themes harmonically is poor: the E minor implications of the first theme are swallowed in
the A7 implications of the second, leaving the
former's B homeless. After eight measures, the
passage is repeated three more times in crescendo. The full orchestral resources are
employed, the register is filled out, there is increased rhythmic activity in the accompanying
parts as the crescendo proceeds: all earmarks
of the archetypical Rossini crescendo. In this
passage the contrapuntal leanings present
throughout the overture find their apotheosis.
When tutta forza is reached, twelve new cadential measures ensue, to be followed by an
appearancein the tonic of the cadential passage
that concluded the exposition. With a few additional measures on the tonic, the overture
ends.
Were this Sinfonia "obbligata a contrabasso" supposed to be a mature work of
Rossini's, one could easily disallow it. But as a
youthful work, despite its many admitted differences from other early overtures, it is harder
to exclude, since so many aspects are similar to
Rossini's practice. The extensive attempt to
incorporate contrapuntal activity within the
work, a practice not normally associated with
Rossini, is fundamental to the essence of this
overture. It causes directly many of the more
peculiar aspects of the piece: the melodic nature of its first theme, the structure of its second theme, the function of its coda with crescendo. Can we account for a piece of this kind
in Rossini's early career?
One of the most reliable of contemporary
biographies of Rossini is by Alexis Azevedo,
published in Paris in 1864. Azevedo, music
critic and journalist, was a close friend and fanatical supporter of Rossini. Even a friendly
Italian critic, Filippo Filippi, recognized in
Azevedo "an admirer, even too exclusively so,
of the Pesarese."22 The French critic and
musicologist Arthur Pougin is much more vituperative: "passionate to an excess, he recognized only a single genre of music, remained
completely deaf to the beauties found in works
22Cited in Radiciotti, op. cit., II, 469.

hns.

PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures

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Example 24

not coming from the Italian school, and considered enemies all those who did not think as
he did." Pougin goes on to accuse Azevedo of
"irrational adoration of Rossini, whose youthful trifles he considered of equal worth with
Guillaume Tell or the Barber."23Azevedo's
biography of Rossini has many errors, to be
sure, but its author was clearly in contact with
Rossini while writing it. His commentary is
consequently always of some value.
Azevedo is quite accurate on the subject of
Rossini's relations to Triossi and Ravenna. He
mentions the sonatas written for Triossi, correctly refers to the latter as an amateur on the
contrabass, and speaks of the Mass for Ravenna
and Triossi's part in its commission. Presumably this information came directly from the
composer. In discussing Rossini's years at the
Liceo Musicale of Bologna, Azevedo recalls
Rossini's fascination with the music of Haydn
and Mozart, going on to say that Padre Mattei,
his teacher, called Rossini "il Tedeschino."
Azevedo also speaks of Rossini's lack of real
interest in advanced contrapuntal studies,
which he considered of little relevance to Italian opera.
Among Rossini's early compositions
Azevedo mentions a "Symphonie d grand orchestre," explaining that this refers in Italian
to an overture. He describes it as "an overture
with fugue, written by the young composer in
imitation of that of Mozart's The Magic Flute,
whose beauty had struck him.... In any event,
Rossini, after having had his sinfonia, that is,
23Pougin'sarticle is found in F. J. Fetis, Biographieuniverselle des musiciens, Supplement et Complement, published under the direction of Arthur Pougin (Paris, 1878),I,
34-35.

his overture, performed by his fellow students

at the Conservatory, found it so poor that he
ripped it up on the spot."24An overture with
fugue. A fascinating idea, one unlike any
known work by Rossini from these years.
Might this composition, the overture Rossini
thought he had destroyed, be the Sinfonia
"obbligata a contrabasso"? Though it is hard
to see much influence from The Magic Flute,
the piece is certainly more contrapuntal in
conception than any other by Rossini, the
counterpoint smacking of schoolboy efforts,
only partially learned and half-heartedly believed in.
We cannot be certain, and may never be so
unless other sources emerge. We can tentatively assert that the Sinfonia "obbligata a
contrabasso" has enough points of agreement
with the early overtures of Rossini that it may
be considered a work written specifically under
the influence of contrapuntal studies undertaken by him at the Liceo Musicale of Bologna,
perhaps in 1809 or 1810. If this assumption is
correct, some of the techniques developed here,
the handling of the transitional material in the
recapitulation and the crescendo in the coda,
would have importance for Rossini's later
career.As these techniques were harnessed and
applied in different ways, they would become
fundamental elements in the archetypical Rossini overture. Our stylistic techniques, however, can only help us evaluate the piece and
understand where it might fit into Rossini's
development: more than that they cannot
reveal.
24Alexis Azevedo, G. Rossini: sa vie et ses ceuvres(Paris,
1864), p. 49.

29

19TH

MUSIC

L'equivoco stravagante. The case of L'equivoco stravagante is the most complex of all.
Performed in Bologna at the Teatro del Corso
on 26 October 1811, Rossini's third opera had
little success at its premiere and few, if any,
documented revivals in the nineteenth century.25 A twentieth-century revival took place
in Siena in 1965.26 Among surviving sources for
this opera (no autograph is known), five separate overtures exist, a staggering number.
Table 2 summarizes these overtures and their
sources.
Considering each piece in detail would unnecessarily prolong this study. Let us instead
summarize the problem briefly. Neither the
overture of Torvaldo e Dorliska nor of Aureliano in Palmira is likely to have been
written for L'equivoco stravagante. They are
fully mature Rossini overtures in every respect,
in form, orchestration, and melodic construction, belonging unequivocally to his second
period. To claim that they were written in 1811
would totally upset our understanding of the
Rossini overtures, requiring us to postulate
that Rossini developed his mature style overnight, promptly forgot it, and then worked
through an additional series of five overtures to
recover it.
Nor is the case for the two unknown overtures (in D and in F) strong: they share little
with the particularities of Rossini's compositional practice during this period. Indeed, each
has details that flatly contradict this practice.
The overture in D, for example, concludes with
a sustained dominant chord in the penultimate
measure, resolving to the tonic in the final
measure. A simple cadence, to be sure, but
Rossini's authentic overtures conclude with a
prolongation of I for several measures: no extraneous chords are allowed, not even the dominant. He instinctively chose such endings,

25Radiciotti, op. cit., III, 191, cites a performance of an

opera entitled L'equivoco stravagante in 1825 at the Teatro
Communale, Trieste. But the extant libretto has no connection with Rossini's opera, either in its text, nor, judging
from the metrical structure of the verse, its music.
26See Adelmo Damerini, "La prima ripresa modema di
un'opera giovanile di Rossini," Chigiana, Nuova serie 2
(Firenze, 1965), pp. 229-36.

30

OVERTURESASSIGNED TO L'EQUIVOCO
STRAVAGANTEIN CONTEMPORARYSOURCES

1) Overture to Torvaldo e Dorliska (1815).

Appears in most known contemporary manuscripts of the complete opera, including those
in the Brussels conservatory, the Boston Public
Library, the New York Public Library, and the
Florence Conservatory.
2) Overture to Aureliano in Palmira (1813) (= II
barbiere di Siviglia).
Appears in the Ricordi edition of the piano-vocal
score, printed in Milan ca. 1850.
3) Overture to La cambiale di matrimonio (1810).
Found in a complete set of eighteen orchestral
parts in the collection of the Istituto Musicale
'G. Verdi' in Ravenna. All parts are labelled
"L'equivoco stravagante." The Basso part has
the fullest frontispiece: "Sinfonia I Dell'opera
intitolata l'Equivoco stravagante IMusica IDel
Sig.r Maestro Gioacchino Russini [sic] N?. 18.
Parti cavate."
4) Overture in D major.

Found in a manuscript of the entire opera in the

Bibliotheque Nationale (fonds du Conservatoire) in Paris, D. 13.057. The piece bears no
relationship to other Rossini overtures.
5) Overture in F major.
Found as the opening number in the reduction
for piano solo of L'equivoco stravagante published in Vienna by M. I. Leidesdorf(pl. no. 955,
1820?). A copy survives in the Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. It too has no
relation to other Rossini overtures.
Table 2

and their very automatic, unconscious status

makes their presence all the more compelling.
The only exception is Bianca e Falliero (1819),
where the opening theme of the overture returns at its close, a carefully calculated effect
which obviously supersedes the instinctual
process. But, significantly, when Rossini reintroduced this theme and its reprise in the overture to Le siege de Corinthe (1826), he added
several bars of decisive tonic chords at the end,
as though acknowledging that he considered
the conclusion of Bianca e Falliero incomplete.
While the F-major overture printed by
Leidesdorf shares some elements with the Rossinian archetype, they are insufficient to bind
it to Rossini himself. Other elements are quite
different. The structure of the slow introduc-

tion, for example, while tripartite, has none of

the character of a Rossini introduction. The
first section concludes with an elaborate,
strong tonic cadence, destroying any sense of
preparation for the entrance of the lyrical
theme in the tonic. The latter is also followed
by lengthy tonic cadences, so that when the
music finally shifts to V at the end of the introduction, the motion is extremely abrupt and
the prolongation of V much too short. None of
the proportions characteristic of a Rossinian
slow introduction are maintained. Within the
quick main section the transition opens with a
Rossinian transitional idea, used to effect a
proper modulation, but the four-measure
phrase is soon reduced to only two measures
for an overly lengthy sequential trip through
the circle of fifths, a technique unknown in the
Rossini overtures. The second theme is extremely pedestrian (a value judgement, to be
sure), suffering from harmonic stasis even
greater than that of the Sinfonia "obbligata a
contrabasso." The author of this overture
knew Rossini models-probably more mature
ones than are found in the earliest overtures,
since he places crescendos correctly after the
second theme in both exposition and recapitulation. But he distrusts the device, his crescendo having only a 2 x 4 measure structure,
whereas Rossini's all repeat the crescendo
theme at least three times. There is, in short,
no compelling reason to assign this overture in
F major to Rossini.
Which leaves La cambiale di matrimonio,
certainly an attractive possibility. We can easily imagine Rossini reusing this overture in his
next opera. The parts are well copied, their location in Ravenna adds force to the identification, and the parts are filled with the closed accents so characteristic of Rossini's music, as if

they had been copied from the autograph or a

source close to it.27 Such borrowing may also

help explain the multiple overtures, for the lost

autograph of L'equivoco stravagante probably
had no overture. If manuscripts circulated
without an overture, editors or musical directors would inevitably have attempted to supply
what the composer apparently neglected to
provide. No decisive case can yet be made, but
a consideration of the alternatives points
strongly towards this result.
By defining precisely the archetypical Rossini
overture, we have demonstrated the essential
nature of Rossini's musical language. Against
that archetype we have sought to trace his
early compositional development, a coherent
and essentially logical one. Using both the archetype and the particularities of this early
period, we have addressedfour problems of authenticity affecting early overtures. Two can be
dispatched with as much certainty as we can
hope to attain: the alternate overture to La
scala di seta is not by Rossini, while the Sinfonia in D "al Conventello" is. The Sinfonia in
D "obbligata a contrabasso" is a more interesting case, a piece for which special circumstances may have existed and for which we
may therefore have to stretch our vision of the
composer's formative years. Though the analysis cannot guarantee the authenticity of the
composition, it creates a context in which the
piece can be understood. Finally, in the case of
L'equivoco stravagante, with its extremely
problematical source situation, our criteria can
at the very least reduce the number of possibilities; at best, they can suggest ways of
^
thinking which will clarify the issues
>i
and offer feasible solutions.

27Rossini's graphical hallmarks are preserved in Alberto

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

PHILIPGOSSETT
Rossini's Overtures