In 1829, at the age of 37, Gioachino Rossini, until then the most successful composer of operas in all of Europe, abandoned the stage and retired to Passy, his estate on the outskirts of Paris, to cultivate the land and become better at his second passion, gastronomy.
William Tell was his last opera, out of a total of 39 written in the incredible span of nineteen years. Written in French, the work was commissioned by the Paris Opera, and premiered in its halls in August 1829, although with some cutting, as its original length, almost five hours, was considered excessive for the tastes of the time... and for ours, too.
The plot
Set in the 13th century, the opera Guillaume Tell is based on poems by Schiller and tells the story of a Swiss patriot, that is, Tell, who fights against the Austrian troops who have conquered his country. He is imprisoned with his son Jemmy and subjected to the famous challenge of aiming his bow and arrows at an apple that has been placed over Jemmy's head. Guillaume shoots his arrow through the apple, leaving his son unharmed, but makes the mistake of telling his captor that if he had wounded Jemmy, the next arrow would be aimed at him. He is arrested, but manages to escape, later leading a victorious revolt against the Austrian army.
A popular overture
Nowadays, the opera is rarely, if ever, performed. It is rather a rarity. But its overture is by no means so. On the contrary, it has become one of the most familiar pieces to the ear for the common people, able to recognize it immediately even if they do not know its author, let alone know that it belongs to an opera. The popular piece has had the luck, the good luck, of the Waltz of Zwanilde, by Léo Delibes (Coppelia), or the Dance of the Hours, by Ponchielli (Gioconda). Melodies that we can hum instantly, even if the names of Ponchielli or Delibes do not appear in our records.
The Lone Ranger and the March of the Soldiers
We have heard the piece in countless television commercials, various movies, and even in the elevator, but its popularity is mainly due to the television series The Lone Ranger, very popular a few decades ago, from where it began to gallop through the history of commercials, always being present in chases of all kinds.
The complete overture lasts approximately twelve minutes and is made up of four sections. The last of these, Finale, or March of the Swiss Soldiers, attempts to represent (we can see how well it did) a cavalry charge, announced at minute 8:27 by horns and trumpets.
The Santa Monica High School Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Joni Swenson, performs this version.
