First heard with the disastrous premiere of the opera on February 20, 1816 in Rome at the Teatro Argentina, Rossini's overture, which was employed twice before as opener for the operas Aureliano in Palmira (1813) and Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (1815), grew in popularity as rapidly as the opera itself - a staple of the repertoire almost since the beginning despite the premiere. As with the other overtures, this one has not been treated very well by publishers over the decades. Part of the problem stems from the composer's own manuscripts which were the product of rapid composing under pressure from opera houses. Many things which were simply assumed by performers of the era from their first appearance and applied to analogous passages weren't by those of later eras. This new performing edition prepared by Clark McAlister was previously issued in by defunct publisher E.F. Kalmus in 2006. Serenissima is now pleased to offer not only the present study score, but the large score and orchestral parts.
