Semiramide

Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy Semiramis, which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Babylon. The opera was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on February 3, 1823. Semiramide was Rossini's final Italian opera, and took the form of a return to vocal traditions of his youth, a melodrama in which he "recreated the baroque tradition of decorative sin... more

Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy Semiramis, which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Babylon. The opera was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on February 3, 1823. Semiramide was Rossini's final Italian opera, and took the form of a return to vocal traditions of his youth, a melodrama in which he "recreated the baroque tradition of decorative singing with unparalleled skill". The ensemble-scenes (particularly the duos between Arsace and Semiramide) and choruses are of a high order, as is the orchestral writing, which makes full use of a large pit. Rossini wrote the title role for his wife, Isabella Colbran. The work starts with a well-known overture, and throughout it calls for outstanding singers in the leading soprano and contralto roles. Although the overture is one of several of Rossini's to be widely recorded, the opera is only occasionally performed. After making his mark with a... less