ival in Milan with
"Bianca e Faliero," and before its close he produced "Maometto
secondo" at Naples. During the next two or three years his muse was
very prolific, and in 1823 appeared another of his great works,
"Semiramide," which made a furor at Venice. That year he went to
London and gave concerts, in which he sang, and thence to Paris, which
now became his home. His greatest work for Paris was "William Tell,"
which was produced in 1829, and it was also his last, though by an
arrangement with the Government of Charles X. it was to be the first
of a series of five. The revolution of 1830 destroyed his plans. In
1836 he heard Meyerbeer's "Huguenots," and resolved to write no more.
Four years before this he had written the "Stabat Mater," but it was
not produced complete until 1842. From this time on he lived at his
villa at Passy the life of a voluptuary and died there Nov. 13, 1868.
The catalogue of his works is immense, including fifty operas alone,
of which in a necessarily brief sketch it has been possible to mention
only those best known.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE.

"Il Barbiere di Siviglia," an opera buffa in two acts, words by
Sterbini, founded on Beaumarchais's comedy, was first produced at the
Argentina Theatre, Rome, Feb. 5, 1816, with the following cast:--

ROSINA Mme. GIORGI RIGHETTI.
BERTAO Mlle. ROSSI.
FIGARO Sig. LUIGI ZAMBONI.
COUNT ALMAVIVA Sig. GARCIA.
BARTOLO Sig. BOTTICELLI.
BASILIO Sig. VITTARELLI.

The story of the writing of "The Barber of Seville" is of more than
ordinary interest. Rossini had engaged to write two operas for the
Roman Carnival of 1816. The first was brought out Dec. 26, 1815, and
the same day he bound himself to furnish the second by Jan. 20, 1816,
with no knowledge of what the libretto would be. Sterbini furnished
him with the story of the "Barber" by piecemeal, and as fast as the
verses were given him he wrote the music. The whole work was finished
in less than three weeks. Its original title was "Almaviva, ossia
l'inutile precauzione," to distinguish it from Paisiello's "Barber of
Seville." The original overture was lost in some manner, and that of
"Aureliano" substituted. In the scene beneath Rosina's balcony Garcia
introduced a Spanish air of his own; but it failed, and before the
second performance Rossini wrote the beautiful cavatina, "Ecco ridente
il cielo" in its place, the melody borrowed from