First heard with the opera's premiere on August 3, 1829 in Paris' Theatre de l'Academie Royale de Musique, Rossini's classic overture has been popular ever since even though the opera itself is only rarely perfomed now. Despite its tremendous popularlty, this overture 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...

First heard with the opera's premiere on October 9, 1826 in Paris' Salle le Peletier, Rossini's ballet music has grandually gained in popularity ever since even though the opera itself is only rarely perfomed now. As with the overtures, this orchestra selection 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...

Verdi's operas are most often represented in the concert hall by their overtures or 'sinfonias' with very good reason. A number of them are symphonic gems in their own right. The operas he composed for the Paris stage give us another view of his orchestral virtuosity with their sumptuous ballet scores. The ballet music here was composed for the Paris premiere of Il Trovatore, given on January 12, 1857 at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris conducted by Narcisse Girard. The ballet, inserted into the third act after the the Soldiers' chorus, portrays Gypsy dancers enterianing the troops....