Editing Gioachino Rossini (section)

===Naples and ''Il barbiere'': 1815–1820===
[[File:Alexandre Fragonard - Scène de L'orage (Barbier de Séville).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|The storm scene from ''[[The Barber of Seville|Il barbiere]]'' in an 1830 lithograph by [[Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard|Alexandre Fragonard]]]]
The musical establishment of Naples was not immediately welcoming to Rossini, who was seen as an intruder into its cherished operatic traditions. The city had once been the operatic capital of Europe;{{sfn|Servadio|2003|p=46}} the memory of [[Domenico Cimarosa|Cimarosa]] was revered and [[Giovanni Paisiello|Paisiello]] was still living, but there were no local composers of any stature to follow them, and Rossini quickly won the public and critics round.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;4. Naples and the opera seria, 1815–23}} Rossini's first work for the San Carlo, ''[[Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra]]''{{refn|"Elizabeth, Queen of England"|group=n}} was a [[dramma per musica]] in two acts, in which he reused substantial sections of his earlier works, unfamiliar to the local public. The Rossini scholars [[Philip Gossett]] and Patricia Brauner write, "It is as if Rossini wished to present himself to the Neapolitan public by offering a selection of the best music from operas unlikely to be revived in Naples."{{sfn|Gossett & Brauner|1997|p=334}} The new opera was received with tremendous enthusiasm, as was the Neapolitan premiere of ''L'italiana in Algeri'', and Rossini's position in Naples was assured.{{sfn|Servadio|2003|p=48}}

For the first time, Rossini was able to write regularly for a resident company of first-rate singers and a fine orchestra, with adequate rehearsals, and schedules that made it unnecessary to compose in a rush to meet deadlines.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;4. Naples and the opera seria, 1815–23}} Between 1815 and 1822 he composed eighteen more operas: nine for Naples and nine for opera houses in other cities. In 1816, for the [[Teatro Argentina]] in Rome, he composed the opera that was to become his best-known: ''[[The Barber of Seville|Il barbiere di Siviglia]]'' (''The Barber of Seville''). There was already [[The Barber of Seville (Paisiello)|a popular opera of that title by Paisiello]], and Rossini's version was originally given the same title as its hero, ''Almaviva''.{{refn|In full, ''Almaviva, ossia L'inutile precauzione'' – Almaviva, or the Useless Precaution.{{sfn|Gossett & Brauner|1997|p=334}}|group= n}} Despite an unsuccessful opening night, with mishaps on stage and many pro-Paisiello and anti-Rossini audience members, the opera quickly became a success, and by the time of its first revival, in Bologna a few months later, it was billed by its present Italian title and it rapidly eclipsed Paisiello's setting.{{sfn|Gossett & Brauner|1997|p=334}}{{refn|Paisiello's version had vanished from the operatic repertory by the 1820s, along with his other once-popular operas, such as ''[[Nina (opera)|Nina]]''.{{sfn|Robinson|2002}}|group= n}}
[[File:Isabella Colbran in Saffo 1817.jpg|thumb|alt=painting of young woman in long white frock with purple shawl; she holds a lyre|upright|[[Isabella Colbran]], ''[[prima donna]]'' of the [[Teatro San Carlo]], who married Rossini in 1822]]
Rossini's operas for the Teatro San Carlo were substantial, mainly serious pieces. His ''[[Otello (Rossini)|Otello]]'' (1816) provoked [[Lord Byron]] to write, "They have been crucifying ''[[Othello]]'' into an opera: music good, but lugubrious – but as for the words!"{{sfn|Osborne|1994|p=65}} Nonetheless, the piece proved generally popular and held the stage in frequent revivals until it was overshadowed by [[Otello|Verdi's version]], seven decades later.{{sfn|Kendall|1992|pp= 74 and 76–77}} Among his other works for the house were ''[[Mosè in Egitto]]'', based on the biblical story of [[Moses]] and the [[the Exodus|Exodus]] from Egypt (1818), and ''[[La donna del lago]]'', from [[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]]'s poem ''[[The Lady of the Lake (poem)|The Lady of the Lake]]'' (1819). For La Scala he wrote the [[opera semiseria]] ''[[La gazza ladra]]'' (1817),{{refn|"The Thieving Magpie"|group= n}} and for Rome his version of the [[Cinderella]] story, ''[[La Cenerentola]]'' (1817).{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;3. From 'Tancredi' to 'La gazza ladra'}} In 1817 came the first performance of one of his operas (''L'Italiana'') at the [[Comédie-Italienne|Theâtre-Italien]] in Paris; its success led to others of his operas being staged there, and eventually to his contract in Paris from 1824 to 1830.{{sfn|Charlton & Trevitt|1980|p= 214}}

Rossini kept his personal life as private as possible, but he was known for his susceptibility to singers in the companies he worked with. Among his lovers in his early years were [[Ester Mombelli]] (Domenico's daughter) and [[Marietta Marcolini|Maria Marcolini]] of the Bologna company.{{sfn|Servadio|2003|pp=27–28}} By far the most important of these relationships – both personal and professional – was with [[Isabella Colbran]], prima donna of the Teatro San Carlo (and former mistress of Barbaia). Rossini had heard her sing in Bologna in 1807, and when he moved to Naples he wrote a succession of important roles for her in ''[[opere serie]]''.{{sfn|Osborne|1993|p=300}}{{sfn|Osborne|2007|p=25}}