First heard with the premiere of the opera on May 22, 1813 in Venice at the Teatro San Benedetto, Rossini's overture grew in popularity as rapidly as the opera - a staple of the repertoire since the beginning. As with the other overtures, this one has not been treated very well by publishers over the decades. Part of the problem stems from the composer's own manuscripts which were the product of rapid composing under pressure from opera houses. Many things which were simply assumed by performers of the era from their first appearance and applied to analogous passages weren't by those of...

First heard with the disaterous premiere of the opera on February 20, 1816 in Rome at the Teatro Argentina, Rossini's overture, which was employed twice before as opener for the operas Aureliano in Palmira (1813) and Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (1815), grew in popularity as rapidly as the opera itself - a staple of the repertoire almost since the beginning despute the premiere. As with the other overtures, this one has not been treated very well by publishers over the decades. Part of the problem stems from the composer's own manuscripts which were the product of...