Together Casa Ricordi and the Rossini Foundation began work on the monumental critical edition of the works of Gioachino Rossini in the early 1970s. The preparation of every score has been accompanied by meticulous study of Rossini’s compositional practice, the performance practices of the time, and a comprehensive examination of the sources. This has made it possible to reconstruct the original versions intended by the composer. Research also has led to the discovery of a number of works that had gone missing and to recognizing the centrality of opere serie and to a greater extent the importance of the operas of his Neapolitan period in the total body of his work.

The critical edition makes it possible to perform the various authentic versions, informing readers by way of a specially designed reference tool of all the possible solutions to the previous textual problems. This philological material, made available to conductors and singers, has in the last twenty years led to a considerable increase in performances of Rossini’s repertoire.

Rossini’s birthplace, the city of Pesaro, hosts the annual Rossini Opera Festival. Every year the Festival, taking advantage of the expertise of the Rossini Foundation, presents the world premiere of at least one work from the critical editions.

This summer the Festival (August 10-22) offers the public the new critical edition of Aureliano in Palmira. Will Crutchfield, in his dual role as critical edition editor and conductor, will lead the G. Rossini Symphony Orchestra on August 12. The stage direction is by Mario Martone. Composed on a libretto by Felice Romani for the Teatro alla Scala, Aureliano in Palmira (the only opera Rossini wrote for a castrato: the famous Giovanni Battista Velluti) was first performed on December 26, 1813. Compared to Tancredi, Aureliano in Palmira is a classic opera, more complex with a distinct plot and a broad musical structure.

On August 15th the Festival hosts the world premiere of Le Sei Sonate a quattro, composed by Rossini in 1804 for a curious quartet of strings, made up of two violins, cello, and double bass. The Rossini Foundation edition, edited by Matteo Guggioli, presents a text reconstructed on the basis of the autograph copy held in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The performance will feature Salvatore Accardo and Laura Gorna (violins), Cecilia Radic (cello), and Franco Petracchi (double bass).

Worklist: Rossini