Gioachino Rossini: Una vita

by Gaia Servadio

La vita di Gioachino Rossini è più avventurosa di quella dei quattro moschettieri messi assieme, è un romanzo. Da ragazzino povero a uomo ricco e infelice, da giovane di “sinistra” a vecchio di destra però sempre pronto a sfottere imperatori e impostori. Ci sono più di mille donne nel catalogo di Gioachino, una lista che avrebbe imbarazzato Leporello. Dopo i primi successi è talmente popolare che le ragazzine lo rincorrono per la strada tagliandogli pezzi di vestito da dosso, come succederà con i Beatles, e, se possibile, qualche ciocca di capelli. Lo scrive Lord Byron, furibondo che qualcuno fosse diventato ancora più famoso di lui. Delle opere di Rossini tutti conoscono Il barbiere di Siviglia, ma, con la rinnovata percezione del grande compositore, si vanno riscoprendo le opere “serie” e in particolare la sua ultima, il Guillaume Tell, che spalanca le porte al Romanticismo. C’è totale follia ne L’Italiana in Algeri, e Il Turco in Italia è surreale, ante litteram. Ma il vero fulcro tematico del libro è perché Rossini abbia smesso di comporre all’ancora verde età di trentasette anni. La risposta che dà Gaia Servadio si basa sull’analisi critica di un epistolario trovato solo di recente. Oltre 250 lettere che esprimono bene lo humour feroce del Maestro, le sue passioni nascoste ma anche il male e il bene di vivere. La pazzia e il genio sono fratelli gemelli, non solo in Mozart, ma anche in Rossini.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2003

About the author

Gaia Cecilia M. Servadio is an Italian writer. She received a bachelor's degree from London's Camberwell School of Art. Her first novel Tanto gentile e tanto onesta, aka Melinda, was published in 1967 by Feltrinelli in Italy and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK, and was a "a runaway success".

Reviews

[Sebaloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[David Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK biography of an interesting composer, though marred by a loose, gossipy tone and at least a few factual errors. Servadio marshals available evidence about Rossini's life, from his impoverished childhood to the astonishing productivity of his early career, to his shocking decision to largely stop composing at the height of his powers. Along the way she explores sensitive topics like Rossini's lifelong battle with depression, and his transition from a youthful liberal to a notable conservative-cum-reactionary who palled around with Metternich and Napoleon III. (In one striking moment, Rossini is meeting with Italian friends after the failure of the 1848 Revolutions in Italy when an official from occupying Austria pays his respects. All the Italians immediately turn their backs and leave the room, a silent treatment that was common for Austrians in that tense period. Rossini, one of the greatest living Italians, was upset — at his friends, whose departure he took as a personal affront.)

I do think this book could have done with slightly more in-depth analysis of Rossini's music — some of his monumental works came and went in little more than a paragraph. Servadio was at her best covering Rossini's social and psychological life, and at her weakest relating him to the big events going on in Europe at the time (some of which she mis-characterizes).

[Ellen Marchessault · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt more like something I would have/could have read in college. It was filled with more than just stories about his life, because the political atmosphere when he was composing was so relevant to the music world at the time. But all-in-all I guess I'm glad that I read it. Now I need to listen to more Rossini than just the Barber of Seville!

[Andlandm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good bio of Rossini focusing on his life, and not so much about the operas, although all are noted. Very focused on his later in life illness and on his childhood, as there are newly available letters to his parents which include new information.