Opera Scotland

Gaetano Rossi Suggest updates

Born Verona, 18 May 1774.

Died Verona, 25 January 1855.

Italian librettist.

Gaetano Rossi must be counted among the most successful Italian opera librettists of his era. He supplied texts to Rossini - two of his early farces, as well as the early Tancredi (1813) and much later Semiramide (1823). These were all first produced for theatres in Venice. His two libretti for Donizetti, Maria Padilla and Linda di Chamounix for Milan and Vienna, respectively, both came as late as 1841, when he was already approaching seventy. He supplied four texts for Meyerbeer, during his Italian years, including the tantalisingly titled Emma di Resburgo (Roxburgh) and worked on amendments to Les Huguenots. With the exception of Bellini he seems to have collaborated with most of the composers working successfully in Italy in the first half of the century, including Carafa, Coccia, Mayr, Mercadante, Nicolai, Pacini and Ricci. In a very long career he produced libretti for over 120 works.