Editing Gioachino Rossini (section)

==Music==
{{See also|List of compositions by Gioachino Rossini|List of operas by Gioachino Rossini}}

==="The Code Rossini"===
{{Quote box|width=250px|bgcolor=#E0E6F8|align=right|quote="Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre ennuyeux".{{refn|"All genres are good except the boring ones".|group= n}} |salign = left |source= Rossini, in a letter of 1868 (citing [[Voltaire]]){{sfn|Osborne|2007|p=vii}}}}The writer [[Julian Budden]], noting the formulas adopted early on by Rossini in his career and consistently followed by him thereafter as regards overtures, [[aria]]s, structures and ensembles, has called them "the Code Rossini" in a reference to the [[Code Napoléon]], the legal system established by the French Emperor.{{sfn|Budden|1973|p=12}} Rossini's overall style may indeed have been influenced more directly by the French: the historian [[John Rosselli (historian)|John Rosselli]] suggests that French rule in Italy at the start of the 19th century meant that "music had taken on new military qualities of attack, noise and speed – to be heard in Rossini."{{sfn|Rosselli|1991|p=22}} Rossini's approach to opera was inevitably tempered by changing tastes and audience demands. The formal "classicist" libretti of [[Metastasio]] which had underpinned late 18th century ''[[opera seria]]'' were replaced by subjects more to the taste of the age of [[Romanticism]], with stories demanding stronger characterisation and quicker action; a jobbing composer needed to meet these demands or fail.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;2. First period 1810–1813}} Rossini's strategies met this reality. A formulaic approach was logistically indispensable for Rossini's career, at least at the start: in the seven years 1812–1819, he wrote 27 operas,{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=Works}} often at extremely short notice. For ''[[La Cenerentola]]'' (1817), for example, he had just over three weeks to write the music before the première.{{sfn|Osborne|2002b}}

Such pressures led to a further significant element of Rossini's compositional procedures, not included in Budden's "Code", namely, recycling. The composer often transferred a successful overture to subsequent operas: thus the overture to ''[[La pietra del paragone]]'' was later used for the ''opera seria'' ''[[Tancredi]]'' (1813), and (in the other direction) the overture to ''[[Aureliano in Palmira]]'' (1813) ended as (and is today known as) the overture to the comedy ''[[The Barber of Seville|Il barbiere di Siviglia]] (The Barber of Seville)''.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;2. First period 1810–1813}}{{sfn|Osborne|2002c}} He also liberally re-employed arias and other sequences in later works. [[Spike Hughes]] notes that of the twenty-six numbers of ''[[Eduardo e Cristina]]'', produced in Venice in 1817, nineteen were lifted from previous works. "The audience&nbsp;... were remarkably good-humoured &nbsp;... and asked slyly why the libretto had been changed since the last performance".{{sfn|Hughes|1956|p=74}} Rossini expressed his disgust when the publisher [[Giovanni Ricordi]] issued a complete edition of his works in the 1850s: "The same pieces will be found several times, for I thought I had the right to remove from my fiascos those pieces which seemed best, to rescue them from shipwreck&nbsp;... A fiasco seemed to be good and dead, and now look they've resuscitated them all!"{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;3. From 'Tancredi' to 'La gazza ladra'}}

====Overtures====
[[Philip Gossett]] notes that Rossini "was from the outset a consummate composer of [[overture]]s". His basic formula for these remained constant throughout his career: Gossett characterises them as "[[sonata form|sonata]] movements without [[Development section|development]] sections, usually preceded by a slow introduction" with "clear melodies, exuberant rhythms [and] simple harmonic structure" and a ''[[crescendo]]'' climax.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;2. First period 1810–1813}} [[Richard Taruskin]] also notes that the second theme is always announced in a woodwind solo, whose "catchiness" "etch[es] a distinct profile in the aural memory", and that the richness and inventiveness of his handling of the orchestra, even in these early works, marks the start of "[t]he great nineteenth-century flowering of [[orchestration]]."{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|pp=20–21}}

====Arias====
[[File:Palpiti.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|alt=page of musical score|Extract from "Di tanti palpiti" (''Tancredi'')]]Rossini's handling of arias (and duets) in ''[[cavatina]]'' style marked a development from the eighteenth-century commonplace of [[recitative]] and aria. In the words of Rosselli, in Rossini's hands, "the aria became an engine for releasing emotion".{{sfn|Rosselli|1991|p=68}} Rossini's typical aria structure involved a lyrical introduction (''"cantabile"'') and a more intensive, brilliant, conclusion (''"cabaletta"''). This model could be adapted in various ways so as to forward the plot (as opposed to the typical eighteenth-century handling which resulted in the action coming to a halt as the requisite repeats of the ''[[da capo aria]]'' were undertaken). For example, they could be punctuated by comments from other characters (a convention known as ''"pertichini"''), or the chorus could intervene between the ''cantabile'' and the ''cabaletta'' so as to fire up the soloist. If such developments were not necessarily Rossini's own invention, he nevertheless made them his own by his expert handling of them.{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|pp=27–28}} A landmark in this context is the ''cavatina'' ''"Di tanti palpiti"'' from ''Tancredi'', which both Taruskin and Gossett (amongst others) single out as transformative, "the most famous aria Rossini ever wrote",{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=28}} with a "melody that seems to capture the melodic beauty and innocence characteristic of Italian opera."{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;3. From 'Tancredi' to 'La gazza ladra'}}{{refn|On its notoriety, Rossini wrote of himself self-mockingly in a letter of 1865 to his publisher Ricordi as "the author of the too-famous ''cavatina'' 'Di tanti palpiti.' " Another clue to its familiarity with 19th-century audiences is that [[Richard Wagner]] made fun of the aria with a deliberate quote from it in the Tailor's Chorus in ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg|Die Meistersinger]]'' (1868).{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=28}}|group=n}} Both writers point out the typical Rossinian touch of avoiding an "expected" cadence in the aria by a sudden shift from the home key of F to that of A flat (see example); Taruskin notes the implicit pun, as the words talk of returning, but the music moves in a new direction.{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=33}} The influence was lasting; Gossett notes how the Rossinian ''cabaletta'' style continued to inform Italian opera as late as [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s ''[[Aida]]'' (1871).{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;3. From 'Tancredi' to 'La gazza ladra'}}

====Structure====
[[File:Tancredi Ferrara.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=text-only poster for operatic performance, listing cast|Poster for a performance of ''Tancredi'' in [[Ferrara]], 1813]]Such structural integration of the forms of vocal music with the dramatic development of the opera meant a sea-change from the Metastasian primacy of the aria; in Rossini's works, solo arias progressively take up a smaller proportion of the operas, in favour of duets (also typically in ''cantabile-cabaletta'' format) and ensembles.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;3. From 'Tancredi' to 'La gazza ladra'}}

During the late 18th century, creators of ''opera buffa'' had increasingly developed dramatic integration of the finales of each act. Finales began to "spread backwards", taking an ever larger proportion of the act, taking the structure of a musically continuous chain, accompanied throughout by orchestra, of a series of sections, each with its own characteristics of speed and style, mounting to a clamorous and vigorous final scene.{{sfn|Robinson|1980|p=560}} In his comic operas Rossini brought this technique to its peak and extended its range far beyond his predecessors. Of the finale to the first act of ''[[L'italiana in Algeri]]'', Taruskin writes that "[r]unning through almost a hundred pages of vocal score in record time, it is the most concentrated single dose of Rossini that there is."{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=25}}

Of greater consequence for the history of opera was Rossini's ability to progress this technique in the genre of ''opera seria''. Gossett in a very detailed analysis of the first-act finale of ''Tancredi'' identifies several elements in Rossini's practice. These include the contrast of "kinetic" action sequences, often characterised by orchestral motifs, with "static" expressions of emotion, the final "static" section in the form of a cabaletta, with all the characters joining in the final cadences. Gossett claims that it is "from the time of ''Tancredi'' that the cabaletta&nbsp;... becomes the obligatory closing section of each musical unit in the operas of Rossini and his contemporaries."{{sfn|Gossett|1971|p=328}}

===Early works===
With extremely few exceptions, all Rossini's compositions before the ''[[Péchés de vieillesse]]'' of his retirement involve the human voice. His very first surviving work (apart from a single song) is however a [[Six string sonatas (Rossini)|set of string sonatas]] for two violins, cello and double-bass, written at the age of 12 when he had barely begun instruction in composition. Tuneful and engaging, they indicate how remote the talented child was from the influence of the advances in musical form evolved by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven; the accent is on [[cantabile]] melody, colour, variation and virtuosity rather than [[musical development|transformational development]].{{sfn|Smith|1992}} These qualities are also evident in Rossini's early operas, especially his ''farse'' (one-act farces), rather than his more formal ''[[opera seria|opere serie]]''. Gossett notes that these early works were written at a time when "[t]he deposited mantles of [[Domenico Cimarosa|Cimarosa]] and [[Giovanni Paisiello|Paisiello]] were unfilled" – these were Rossini's first, and increasingly appreciated, steps in trying them on. The [[Teatro San Moisè]] in Venice, where his ''farse'' was first performed, and the [[La Scala]] Theatre of Milan which premiered his two-act opera ''La pietra del paragone'' (1812), were seeking works in that tradition; Gossett notes that in these operas "Rossini's musical personality began to take shape&nbsp;... many elements emerge that remain throughout his career" including "[a] love of sheer sound, of sharp and effective rhythms". The unusual effect employed in the overture of ''[[Il signor Bruschino]]'', (1813) deploying violin [[bow (music)|bows]] tapping rhythms on [[music stand]]s, is an example of such witty originality.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;2. First period 1810–1813}}{{refn|Although it did not always seem so attractive to its contemporary audiences or musicians: one review of the première of ''Bruschino'' commented "it is utterly incomprehensible how a maestro could write such a meaningless overture, one in which members of the orchestra beat their music stands; this was sinking so low that on the first night the musicians refused to cooperate."{{sfn|Rother|1989|p=6}}|group=n}}

===Italy, 1813–1823===
[[File:Domenico Barbaja-1820s.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=painting of prosperous-looking man in fur-collared black coat|left|[[Domenico Barbaja]] in Naples in the 1820s]]

The great success in Venice of the premieres of both ''Tancredi'' and the comic opera ''L'italiana in Algeri'' within a few weeks of each other (6 February 1813 and 22 May 1813 respectively) set the seal on Rossini's reputation as the rising opera composer of his generation. From the end of 1813 to mid-1814 he was in Milan creating two new operas for La Scala, ''[[Aureliano in Palmira]]'' and ''[[Il Turco in Italia]]''. Arsace in ''Aureliano'' was sung by the ''[[castrato]]'' [[Giovanni Velluti (castrato)|Giambattista Velluti]]; this was the last opera role Rossini wrote for a ''castrato'' singer as the norm became to use [[contralto]] voices – another sign of change in operatic taste. Rumour had it that Rossini was displeased by Velluti's [[ornamentation (music)|ornamentation]] of his music; but in fact throughout his Italian period, up to ''[[Semiramide]]'' (1823), Rossini's written vocal lines become increasingly florid, and this is more appropriately credited to the composer's own changing style.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;3. From 'Tancredi' to 'La gazza ladra'}}{{refn|But there were limits. When [[Adelina Patti]] performed at one of Rossini's Saturday soirées, during his retirement, an over-the-top version of ''"[[Una voce poco fa]]"'' from ''The Barber'', the composer gently enquired "Very nice, my dear, and who wrote the piece you have just performed?"{{sfn|Osborne|2002c}}|group=n}}

Rossini's work in Naples contributed to this stylistic development. The city, which was the cradle of the operas of Cimarosa and Paisiello, had been slow to acknowledge the composer from Pesaro, but [[Domenico Barbaia]] invited him in 1815 on a seven-year contract to manage his theatres and compose operas. For the first time, Rossini was able to work over a long period with a company of musicians and singers, including amongst the latter [[Isabella Colbran]], [[Andrea Nozzari]], [[Giovanni David]] and others, who as Gossett notes "all specialized in florid singing" and "whose vocal talents left an indelible and not wholly positive mark on Rossini's style". Rossini's first operas for Naples, ''[[Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra]]'' and ''[[La gazzetta]]'' were both largely recycled from earlier works, but ''[[Otello (Rossini)|Otello]]'' (1816) is marked not only by its virtuoso vocal lines but by its masterfully integrated last act, with its drama underlined by melody, orchestration and tonal colour; here, in Gossett's opinion "Rossini came of age as a dramatic artist."{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;4. Naples and the opera seria, 1815–23}} He further comments:

{{blockquote|The growth of Rossini's style from ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' to ''[[Zelmira]]'' and, ultimately, ''[[Semiramide]]'', is a direct consequence of th[e] continuity [he experienced in Naples]. Not only did Rossini compose some of his finest operas for Naples, but these operas profoundly affected operatic composition in Italy and made possible the developments that were to lead to Verdi.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;4. Naples and the opera seria, 1815–23}}|}}

[[File:Il signor Tambourossini - Delaroche.jpg|thumb|alt=caricature of man in Turkish dress, carrying and banging a large drum|upright=1.3|"Il signor Tambourossini, ou la nouvelle mélodie" (1821). Combining the composer's name with ''tambour'' (French for "drum"), this lithograph by the French artist [[Paul Delaroche]] makes clear the early Rossini's European reputation as a creator of noise, including a trumpet and drum accompanied by a magpie, several references to his early operas,{{refn|The magpie is also a reference to ''La gazza ladra'', the oriental dress references ''Otello'' or maybe ''Il turco in Italia''{{sfn|Walton|2007|p=15}}|group=n}} and showing him and [[Midas|King Midas]] literally trampling on sheet-music and violins, while [[Apollo]] (the god of music) makes his escape in the background.{{sfn|Walton|2007|p=15}}]]

By now, Rossini's career was arousing interest across Europe. Others came to Italy to study the revival of Italian opera and used its lessons to advance themselves; amongst these was the Berlin-born [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]] who arrived in Italy in 1816, a year after Rossini's establishment at Naples, and lived and worked there until following him to Paris in 1825; he used one of Rossini's librettists, [[Gaetano Rossi]], for five of his seven Italian operas, which were produced at Turin, Venice and Milan.{{sfn|Conway|2012|pp=245–249}} In a letter to his brother of September 1818, he includes a detailed critique of ''Otello'' from the point of view of a non-Italian informed observer. He is scathing about the self-borrowings in the first two acts, but concedes that the third act "so firmly established Rossini's reputation in Venice that even a thousand follies could not rob him of it. But this act is divinely beautiful, and what is so strange is that [its] beauties&nbsp;... are blatantly un-Rossinian: outstanding, even passionate recitatives, mysterious accompaniments, lots of local colour."{{sfn|Letellier|1999|p=349}}

Rossini's contract did not prevent him from undertaking other commissions, and before ''Otello, Il barbiere di Siviglia'', a grand culmination of the ''opera buffa'' tradition, had been premiered in Rome (February 1816). Richard Osborne catalogues its excellencies:

<blockquote>Beyond the physical impact of&nbsp;... Figaro's "[[Largo al factotum]]", there is Rossini's ear for vocal and instrumental timbres of a peculiar astringency and brilliance, his quick-witted word-setting, and his mastery of large musical forms with their often brilliant and explosive internal variations. Add to that what Verdi called the opera's "abundance of true musical ideas", and the reasons for the work's longer-term emergence as Rossini's most popular ''opera buffa'' are not hard to find.{{sfn|Osborne|2002c}}</blockquote>

Apart from ''La Cenerentola'' (Rome, 1817), and the "pen-and-ink sketch" ''[[farsa]]'' ''[[Adina (opera)|Adina]]'' (1818, not performed until 1826),{{sfn|Osborne|2002e}} Rossini's other works during his contract with Naples were all in the ''opera seria'' tradition. Amongst the most notable of these, all containing virtuoso singing roles, were ''[[Mosè in Egitto]]'' (1818), ''[[La donna del lago]]'' (1819), ''[[Maometto II]]'' (1820) all staged in Naples, and ''Semiramide'', his last opera written for Italy, staged at [[La Fenice]] in Venice in 1823. The three versions of the [[opera semiseria]] ''[[Matilde di Shabran]]'' were written in 1821/1822. Both ''Mosè'' and ''Maometto II'' were later to undergo significant reconstruction in Paris (see below).{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;4. Naples and the opera seria, 1815–23}}

===France, 1824–1829===
[[File:Moise Act III.jpg|thumb|left|alt=page of musical score|Extract from Rossini's ''Moïse'' published in ''[[Le Globe]]'', 31 March 1827, in an article by [[Ludovic Vitet]]{{refn|Apparently the first music quotation ever printed in a Paris daily newspaper, the extract outlines the choral music that excited audiences at the end of the opera's third act.{{sfn|Walton|2007|pp=156–157}}|group=n}}]]

Already in 1818, Meyerbeer had heard rumours that Rossini was seeking a lucrative appointment at the [[Paris Opera]] – "Should [his proposals] be accepted, he will go to the French capital, and we will perhaps experience curious things."{{sfn|Letellier|1999|pp=349–350}} Some six years were to pass before this prophecy came true.

In 1824 Rossini, under a contract with the French government, became director of the [[Comédie-Italienne#The Théâtre-Italien in the 19th century|Théâtre-Italien]] in Paris, where he introduced Meyerbeer's opera ''[[Il crociato in Egitto]]'', and for which he wrote ''[[Il viaggio a Reims]]'' to celebrate the coronation of [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] (1825). This was his last opera to an Italian libretto, and was later cannibalised to create his first French opera, ''[[Le comte Ory]]'' (1828). A new contract in 1826 meant he could concentrate on productions at the Opéra and to this end he substantially revised ''Maometto II'' as ''[[Le siège de Corinthe]]'' (1826) and ''Mosé'' as ''[[Mosè in Egitto|Moïse et Pharaon]]'' (1827). Meeting French taste, the works are extended (each by one act), the vocal lines in the revisions are less florid and the dramatic structure is enhanced, with the proportion of arias reduced.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;5. Europe and Paris 1822–9}} One of the most striking additions was the chorus at the end of Act III of ''Moïse'', with a ''[[Dynamics (music)#Changes|crescendo]]'' repetition of a [[Diatonic and chromatic|diatonic]] ascending bass line, rising first by a [[minor third]], then by a [[major third]], at each appearance, and a descending [[Diatonic and chromatic|chromatic]] top line, which roused the excitement of audiences.{{sfn|Walton|2007|pp=156–60}}

[[File:Eugène Du Faget - Costume designs for Guillaume Tell - 1-3. Laure Cinti-Damoreau as Mathilde, Adolphe Nourrit as Arnold Melchtal, and Nicolas Levasseur as Walter Furst.jpg|thumb|Costume designs for ''[[William Tell (opera)|Guillaume Tell]]'', with [[Laure Cinti-Damoreau]] as Mathilde, [[Adolphe Nourrit]] as Arnold Melchtal, and [[Nicolas Levasseur]] as Walter Furst]]

Rossini's government contract required him to create at least one new ''"grand opėra"'', and Rossini settled on the story of [[William Tell]], working closely with the librettist [[Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy|Étienne de Jouy]]. The story in particular enabled him to indulge "an underlying interest in the related genres of folk music, pastoral and the picturesque". This becomes clear from the overture, which is explicitly programmatic in describing weather, scenery and action, and presents a version of the ''[[Ranz des Vaches]]'', the Swiss cowherd's call, which "undergoes a number of transformations during the opera" and gives it in Richard Osborne's opinion "something of the character of a [[leitmotif]]".{{sfn|Osborne|2002a}}{{refn|The ''ranz des vaches'' had already been used to characterise Switzerland in [[André Grétry]]'s 1791 [[Guillaume Tell (Grétry)|opera on Tell]].{{sfn|Walton|2007|p=276}}|group=n}} In the opinion of the music historian Benjamin Walton, Rossini "saturate[s] the work with local colour to such a degree that there is room for little else." Thus, the role of the soloists is significantly reduced compared to other Rossini operas, the hero not even having an aria of his own, whilst the chorus of the Swiss people is consistently in the musical and dramatic foregrounds.{{sfn|Walton|2007|p=277}}{{sfn|Bartlet|2003|p=275}}

''[[William Tell (opera)|Guillaume Tell]]'' premiered in August 1829. Rossini also provided for the Opéra a shorter, three-act version, which incorporated the ''[[pas redoublé]]'' (quick march) final section of the overture in its finale; it was first performed in 1831 and became the basis of the Opéra's future productions.{{sfn|Osborne|2002a}} ''Tell'' was very successful from the start and was frequently revived – in 1868 the composer was present at its 500th performance at the Opéra. The ''Globe'' had reported enthusiastically at its opening that "a new epoch has opened not only for French opera, but for dramatic music elsewhere".{{sfn|Bartlet|2003|p=278}} This was an era, it transpired, in which Rossini was not to participate.

===Withdrawal, 1830–1868===
[[File:Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the première of Rossini's Robert Bruce, Act III, Scene 3.jpg|thumb|Set design for the original production of ''[[Robert Bruce (opera)|Robert Bruce]]'' (1846)|alt=A painting of a stage setting based on the ramparts of Sterling Castle in the Late Middle Ages.]]

Rossini's contract required him to provide five new works for the Opéra over 10 years. After the première of ''Tell'' he was already considering some opera subjects, including [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]'s ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'', but the only significant works he completed before abandoning Paris in 1836 were the [[Stabat Mater (Rossini)|Stabat Mater]], written for a private commission in 1831 (later completed and published in 1841), and the collection of salon vocal music ''Soirées musicales'' published in 1835. Living in Bologna, he occupied himself teaching singing at the Liceo Musicale, and also created a ''[[pasticcio]]'' of ''Tell'', ''Rodolfo di Sterlinga'', for the benefit of the singer {{ill|Nicola Ivanoff|it|Nicola Ivanoff (tenore)}}, for which [[Giuseppe Verdi]] provided some new arias.{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;6. Retirement}} Continuing demand in Paris resulted in the production of a "new" French version of ''Otello'' in 1844 (with which Rossini was not involved) and a "new" opera ''[[Robert Bruce (opera)|Robert Bruce]]'' for which Rossini cooperated with [[Louis Niedermeyer]] and others to recast music for ''La donna del lago'' and others of his works which were little-known in Paris to fit a new libretto. The success of both of these was qualified, to say the least.{{sfn|Everist|2009|pp=644–653}}

Not until Rossini returned to Paris in 1855 were there signs of a revival of his musical spirits. A stream of pieces, for voices, choir, piano, and chamber ensembles, written for his soirées, the ''[[Péchés de vieillesse]] (Sins of old age)'' were issued in thirteen volumes from 1857 to 1868; of these, volumes 4 to 8 comprise "56 semi-comical piano pieces&nbsp;.... dedicated to pianists of the fourth class, to which I have the honour of belonging."{{sfn|Osborne|1993|pp=293–297}} These include a mock [[funeral march]], ''Marche et reminiscences pour mon dernier voyage (March and reminiscences for my last journey).''{{sfn|Osborne|1993|p=270}} Gossett writes of the ''Péchés'' "Their historical position remains to be assessed but it seems likely that their effect, direct or indirect, on composers like [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] and [[Erik Satie]] was significant."{{sfn|Gossett|2001|loc=§&nbsp;7. A new life}}{{refn|The popular [[Duetto buffo di due gatti|Cat's duet]], frequently attributed to Rossini, is not by him but is a confection of the "Katte-Cavatine" by the Danish composer [[Christopher Ernst Friedrich Weyse|C.E.F. Weyse]] with music from Rossini's ''Otello''.{{sfn|Osborne|1993|p=179}}|group=n}}

The most substantial work of Rossini's last decade, the ''[[Petite messe solennelle]]'' (1863), was written for small forces (originally voices, two pianos and [[harmonium]]), and therefore unsuited to concert hall performance; and as it included women's voices it was unacceptable for church performances at the time. For these reasons, Richard Osborne suggests, the piece has been somewhat overlooked among Rossini's compositions.{{sfn|Osborne|2004|p=159}} It is neither especially ''petite'' (little) nor entirely ''solennelle'' (solemn), but is notable for its grace, counterpoint and melody.{{sfn|Hurd & Scholes|1991|p=286}} At the end of the manuscript, the composer wrote:

<blockquote>Dear God, here it is finished, this poor little Mass. Is it sacred music I have written, or damned music? I was born for opera buffa, as you know well. A little technique, a little heart, that's all. Be blessed then, and grant me Paradise.{{sfn|King|2006|pp=4–7}}</blockquote>