The programme opens with the sparkling overture to Rossini's opera 'The Thieving Magpie' and the luxurious silken warmth of Mascagni's Intermezzo from 'Cavalleria rusticana' follows. Shakespeare ...

Yes, that’s the overture to his last opera, William Tell ... The finale of Act 1 is a comic ensemble, in which Rossini manages to convey the characters’ individual and collective bafflement.

Overture, a work that premiered in 1813 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice when the composer was just 21 years old. The opera was written in reportedly in just 18 days, demonstrating Rossini ...