Life of Rossini

by Stendhal

Book Overview

Rossini's success in Italy in the early 1820s was certainly not echoed in France, where he was regarded as "an ill-bred parvenu, whose cheap popularity was an insult to a great musical tradition".... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 071450632X
• ISBN13: 9780714506326
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Calder Publications
• Length: 566 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

stendhal and opera

An early work of Stendhal, who was an avid opera goer throughout his life. Opera music created a similar feeling to love in his soul. He preferred Italian opera and goes through a history of music in different European countries, including making sweeping generalizations about Italian and German music. He obviously favored Rossini and anything to do with Italian life and customs. His great sensibility made him a keen music critic and he makes surprisingly accurate comments. He reviews every single opera extensively. A great combination of a literary work and music history, and a good read for students of music and literature alike. A truly unique work as I do not know of many great novelists who dabbled in music as well. As with many other more modern writers, Stendhal is more interested in describing how the music made him feel, rather than a strict exegesis of the music itself.