Recent critical response to Gioachino Rossini's opera Aureliano in Palmira (1813) has generally been negative, without any author offering a serious reevaluation of the entire work including a discussion of the opera's background, libretto, and musical content. Many passages in Aureliano in Palmira were either borrowed from his earlier works or incorporated into later works. For instance, the overture to this opera later became the overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia and, with some modifications, to Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra. Additionally, many of the macrostructures of individual scenes foreshadow Rossini's later Neopolitan style. A table indicating all the instances of self-borrowing related to this work is provided.

Works: Rossini: Aureliano in Palmira (18-30), Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (21-22), Il barbiere di Siviglia (21-22), Giunone (cantata) (21-22), Otello (22), Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo (22).

Sources: Rossini: Aureliano in Palmira (18-30), Tancredi (22).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Mark Chilla