Gioachino Rossini's Moïse, also known as Moîse et Pharaon, is one of the least-known among Rossini's mature operas, and it's not at all clear why this should be so. The work, an expanded French version of Rossini's Italian-language Mosè in Egitto, was popular in its time, and it has been known for years to Rossini fans; no less a figure than Riccardo Muti has pronounced it one of Rossini's greatest works. Perhaps the biblical subject matter has been thought noncommercial by presenters. The tale is loosely based on the ...
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Gioachino Rossini's Moïse, also known as Moîse et Pharaon, is one of the least-known among Rossini's mature operas, and it's not at all clear why this should be so. The work, an expanded French version of Rossini's Italian-language Mosè in Egitto, was popular in its time, and it has been known for years to Rossini fans; no less a figure than Riccardo Muti has pronounced it one of Rossini's greatest works. Perhaps the biblical subject matter has been thought noncommercial by presenters. The tale is loosely based on the Exodus story, and Rossini, hoping to get around Neapolitan restrictions on secular music, called it an oratorio. Even the French version bore this label, and the traces of the work's religious nature are audible in it. The chorus has an outsized role, and the overture and some of the arias are straightforward and sober, but these numbers are overlaid with a great deal of pure Rossini, added by the composer in a total reworking for Parisian audiences. It's an interesting mix, colorful and...
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