Gioacchino Rossini was born in Pesaro, Italy on 29 February 1792.
He died in Passy, Italy, 13 November 1868. He came from a family
of musicians. His mother was a singer, and his father a horn player.
He learned to play horn, and his mother taught him how to sing.
It's not known exactly in how many operas Rossini sang, but
there is at least one record that shows him having had a part in an opera in Bologna. Bologna is where he studied and began his career in opera, aged 18. He started writing mostly comic operas, with
La pietra del paragone being a success in the La Scala theatre in 1812.
Later in his career Rossini left traditional overtures to others. He met
soprano Isabella Colbran in Naples, who was the mistress of the
impresario Barbaia. She married Rossini in 1822 - the marriage
was not a happy one.
Aged only 37 he retired from opera composition. He returned to Italy (1837) after living in Paris. He suffered from a prolonged and painful illness for a while. His wife, Isabella, died in 1845. Just a year after
her death Rossini married Olympe Pélissier. He had lived with her
for 15 years and it is her who tended him when his health was in
a bad shape. In 1855 he went back to Paris. With his health
and personal humour returning he was able to write again. He
wrote many pieces for piano and voices during his time in Paris.
Gioacchino Rossini died in 1868.
Rossini Operas
Here is a list of some of Rossini's Operas:
L'equivoco stravagante
Tancredi
La Gazzetta
Otello
Guillaume Tell