Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) - Stich von Filippo Caporali im Auftrag von Niccolò Bettoni nach einer Zeichnung von Louis Dupré von 1819, um 1823

Gioachino Rossini made his opera composer debut in Venice in 1810. His Operas "Tancredi" and "Die Italienerin in Algier" ("The Italian in Algier"), which are still popular today, also had their premiere in Venice. From 1815 until 1823, he worked as composer in Rome, where he produced - among other works - his Opera "Der Barbier von Sevilla" ("Barber of Sevilla").

Rossini's music had been enormously popular all over Europe during the first half of the 19th century, but Ludwig van Beethoven valued it only conditionally. The two composers first met in person, when Rossini visited Vienna in 1822. But they had a very hard time communicating with each other, not only because of Beethoven's deafness, but also because of language problems. Between the years of 1824 and 1826, Rossini had been the director of the Théâtre Italien in Paris, from 1835 until 1848, he had been the leader of the Liceo Musicale in Bologna and he temporarily lived in Florence thereafter. He finally returned to France in 1855, where he stayed for the rest of his life.(S.B.)