Tancredi

Tancredi is a melodramma eroico (opera seria or 'heroic' opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write Semiramide ten years later), based on Voltaire's play Tancrède (1759). The opera made its first appearance in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice on 6 February 1813, after Il signor Bruschino premiered in late January, giving the composer less than a month to have completed Tancredi. The overture, borrowed from La pietra del paragone, is a popular example of Rossini's characteristic style, and is a regular part of the concert and recording repertoire.