169 



ROSSINI, GIOACCHINO. 



ROSTOPCHIN, FEDOR VASILEVICH. 



170 



tragedians and singers of her time, who was then in the highest 

 favour with the Neapolitana ; for the success of the opera was short- 

 lived. No other prima-donna has distinguished herself in it ; and 

 indeed it is now almost forgotten. This lady had gained a large 

 fortune during her brilliant career, and Rossini married her before the 

 termination of his engagement at Naples. This engagement did not 

 preclude him from producing operas at other places ; and accordingly 

 two pieces, ' Torvaldo e Dorliska,' and ' II Barbiere di Siviglia,' were 

 brought out by him, in 1816, at Rome. Tho first made no impression; 

 the second is the most popular and the most charming of all his works. 

 The drama, founded on the well-known comedy of Beaumarchais, had 

 already been clothed with beautiful music by the celebrated Paisiello ; 

 [PAISIELLO, G.] and Rossini's adoption of the same subject was regarded 

 as a piece of no small audacity. Under this prepossession the Roman 

 audience, the first night, treated the new opera harshly, and would 

 scarcely hear it to an end. On a second hearing however they reversed 

 their hasty judgment, and didjusticeto the beauties of the piece. Itflew 

 overall Europe, and was received, as 'Tancredi' had been, with un- 

 bounded enthusiasm. For forty years it has enjoyed a success unpa- 

 ralleled in the annals of the Opera. It has been performed numberless 

 times in every European language, and in every musical theatre, great 

 and small, in the world ; and to this day it is found to be as fresh, as 

 delightful, and as attractive as ever. 



In the following year, 1817, 'La Cenerentola ' was produced at 

 Rome, and ' La Gazza Ladra ' at Milan. The former, as a whole, does 

 not hold a very high place among the author's works. The dramatist 

 has spoiled the pretty nursery tale of Cinderella, by divesting it of all 

 its fauciful fairy machinery ; and the heroine's part, being for a low 

 mezzo-soprano voice, seldom finds a fitting representative. But there 

 are highly comic scenes and pretty things in the music, so that this 

 opera, when well-acted and sung, still continues to please. The 

 ' Gazza Ladra' (founded on the interesting tale of the ' Maid and the 

 Magpie ') has always been one of Rossini's most favourite pieces. 



From this time to the termination of Rossini's engagement at Naples 

 in 1823, were composed his principal operas for that city. Passing over 

 some minor pieces which have fallen into oblivion, they were ' Otello/ 

 ' Mose in Egitto,' ' La Donna del Lago,' ' Maometto Secondo,' and ' Zel- 

 mira.' ' Otello ' notwithstanding the wretched way in which Shakspere 

 is mangled by the Italian playwright, has high merit as a musical work ; 

 and, with two great performers in the characters of Othello and Desde- 

 mona, never fails to succeed even in England. In ' Mose in Egitto ' there 

 is probably more real grandeur than in any of Rossini's other produc- 

 tions; the famous prayer of the Hebrews when about to effect the 

 miraculous passage of the Red Sea, is a sublime inspiration of genius. 

 This opera has always produced a great effect, not only in its original 

 form but in French and German versions, and it has also been received 

 with favour in England, though, in consequence of the prohibition of 

 Scriptural subjects on our stage, it was performed under the title 

 of ' Pietro 1'Eremita,' and more recently (at the Royal Italian Opera) 

 under that of ' Zorah ; ' both transformations being equally absurd 

 and preposterous. ' La Donna del Lago ' was at first unsuccessful ; 

 but the merits of this splendid opera were soon recognised, and it 

 still keeps possession of the stage. ' Maometto Secondo,' also failed 

 at first, and likewise when it was reproduced three years afterwards 

 at Venice. But a French version of it under the title of ' Le Siege 

 de Corinthe,' was well received at Paris in 1826; and in this form, 

 but with Italian words, it has been repeatedly performed both at 

 Paris and London, under the title of ' L'Assedio di Corinto.' ' Zelmira ' 

 was another failure, though it contains some of Rossini's finest music, 

 the libretto being contemptibly silly. 



In 1823 Rossini left Italy, and remained for many years absent from 

 his native country. The last opera composed by him before his 

 departure was ' Semiramide,' which, in that year, was produced at 

 Venice. This is the most gorgeous of his works. Its pomp and 

 splendour are somewhat ponderous, though highly imposing, and the 

 strength of the orchestral accompaniments is carried to an overpower- 

 ing excess. But it has much real grandeur, and the character of the 

 Assyrian queen in the hands of a great tragedian, such as Pasta or 

 Grisi, has never failed to make a strong impression. 



After a brief stay in Paris, Rossini arrived in London in 1824, in 

 consequence of an engagement at the Italian Opera, whereby he was 

 to be the musical director, and to produce a new opera composed for 

 the theatre. Madame Colbrand Rossini (whom he had married before 

 leaving Naples) was also engaged as prima donna. Immense curiosity 

 was excited by the arrival of the far-famed maestro. But ' Zelmira,' 

 the opera which began the season, did not please ; and Madame Rossini 

 was so coldly received that she did not re-appear. The season was 

 attended with enormous loss, and Rossini abruptly quitted England 

 without having fulfilled his engagement to compose an opera. If 

 however his engagement was disastrous to the theatre, his sojourn in 

 London was profitable to himself. He was the lion of the day ; and 

 his manners and talents as an accomplished singer ' de socie'te',' com- 

 pleted the popularity in the fashionable world which his music had 

 gained. The aristocracy loaded him with attentions, and paid him 

 richly for accepting their invitations. Two subscription-concerts for 

 his benefit were got up at Almacks' ; the admission to both was 

 two guineas ; and, as if this were not sufficient to render them exclu- 

 sive, the tickets were limited to persons approved by a committee 



of lady-patronesses. The concerts were of the most trivial kind, but 

 the fashionable crowd could boast that they had heard the famous 

 maestro himself sing a couple of comic songs. A popular idol is always 

 subject to hostility and detraction. Many stories were industriously 

 circulated of Rossini's arrogant and presumptuous behaviour even in 

 the presence of royalty. They were effectually refuted at the time, 

 and indeed were quite inconsistent with his general deportment, which 

 has always been that of a well-bred gentleman and man of the world. 

 The absurd homage he received from the fashionable world was no 

 fault of his, but of those who paid it. 



On his return to Paris, Rossini became manager of the Italian Opera, 

 to which office he was appointed by the Vicomte de Rochefoucauld, 

 the minister of the royal household ; and he held it till the revolution 

 of 1830. His indolence and want of administrative capacity made him 

 quite unfit for the situation, and the theatre during his regime fell 

 from a prosperous state to the brink of rum. He neglected his art 

 as much as his business. He composed a little opera for the coronation 

 of Charles X., called 'II Viaggio a Reims;' and, when it had served 

 its temporary purpose, he employed the greater part of the music in 

 the concoction of another opera, on a totally different subject, called 

 ' II Conte Ory ; ' a worthless piece in a dramatic point of view, though, 

 on account of its light and pretty music, it is still occasionally per- 

 formed. He adapted his old opera, ' Maometto Secondo,' to the French 

 stage under the title of ' Le Siege de Corinthe,' as has been already 

 mentioned ; and he did the same thing with his ' Mose in Egitto,' 

 which was performed under the title of 'Moise.' These were the 

 whole of his labours from 1824 to 1829, when he produced his last 

 and greatest opera, ' Guillaume Tell ; ' a work so original, so unlike 

 anything he had ever done before, that it seemed the production of a 

 different author. We recognise Rossini's graceful Italian melody ; but 

 in depth and solidity of style, richness of harmony, and variety of 

 orchestral effects, 'Guillaume Tell' emulates the greatest masterpieces 

 of the German school. This opera however has not had all the success 

 which it deserves. The drama is ill-constructed and without interest, 

 so that the audience become weary, notwithstanding the beauties 01 

 the music. Hence it happens that, while the airs and concerted pieces 

 of ' Guillaume Tell ' are performed at every concert, and found on 

 every lady's pianoforte, it is seldom represented on the stage. 



With this opera, at the age of seven-and-thirty, Rossini closed his 

 career. His doing so was the result of a deliberate resolution. To 

 his friend?, who pressed him to resume his pen, he was wont to say, 

 "An additional success would add nothing to my fame ; a failure would 

 inj ure it : I have no need of the one, and I do not choose to expose 

 myself to the other." And to this determination he has adhered ; for 

 the composition of his pretty and popular, but slight ' Stabat Mater,' 

 cannot be regarded as a departure from it. 



By the revolution of 1830 Rossini was deprived of the management 

 of the Italian Opera, and of his places of superintendant of his majesty's 

 music, and inspector-general of singing in France two lucrative sine- 

 cures, which he held under government. He continued nevertheless 

 to reside in Paris, occupied in claiming compensation for the losses he 

 had sustained, in which to some extent he succeeded. During this 

 time he lived in a miserable lodging in the purlieus of the theatre, 

 pretending that the utmost parsimony was necessary from the loss of 

 his income. Nobody was duped by this piece of comedy, as his opulent 

 circumstances were well known. In 1836 he returned to Italy, intending 

 merely to visit his property there ; but he prolonged his stay, and at 

 length resolved to fix his permanent residence in his native country. 



Since that time, we believe, Rossini has lived constantly in Bologna 

 or its neighbourhood till last year, when he returned to Paris, where 

 he still remains. For more than twenty years his life, though he is 

 now only sixty-five, has been a blank, spent in self-indulgence and 

 indolence ; his habits of this kind having been increased latterly by 

 infirm health. He is described as being still lively, kind, and good- 

 humoured ; but he takes little interest in his old pursuits, and, it is said, 

 since his return to Paris, has never been within the doors of a theatre. 



ROSTOPCHIN or RASTOPCHIN, COUNT FEDOR VASILE- 

 VICH, a Russian nobleman whose name will be always associated with 

 one of the most striking events of modern history, was born on the 12th 

 of March 1765, as he himself informs us in his ' Memoirs written in ten 

 minutes.' The family of Rostopchin which established itself in Russia 

 about three hundred years before is of Tartar origin and descended in 

 a direct line from one of the sons of Genghis Khan. Fedor, after 

 completing his education by a tour in Europe, became officer of the 

 guards and gentleman of the chamber to the Empress Catherine, but 

 attached himself to the Grand Duke Paul, with whom he became a 

 favourite, from his sallies of somewhat eccentric humour. When the 

 Grand-Duke became Emperor, Rostopchin rose to be adjutant-general, 

 minister of foreign affairs, and director-general of the post, and was 

 made a count, but he lost favour before the close of the Emperor's 

 reign from opposing the alliance with France, was dismissed from his 

 offices and was absent from St. Petersburg in disgrace at the time of the 

 sudden termination of Paul's career. Under the Emperor Alexander 

 Rostopchiu became Grand-Chamberlain and was appointed General- 

 Commander in Chief of the city and government of Moscow, and he 

 held that post at the time when the eyes of all Europe were turned 

 towards Moscow, on the French invasion of Russia in 1812. It was 

 under his government that Moscow was burned. 



