William Tell (opera)

Lore & Background

The opera's length, roughly four hours of music, and casting requirements, such as the high range required for the tenor part, have contributed to the difficulty of producing the work. When performed, the opera is often cut. Performances have been given in both French and Italian. Political concerns have also contributed to the varying fortunes of the work. In Italy, because the work glorified a revolutionary figure against authority, the opera encountered difficulties with the Italian censors, and the number of productions in Italy was limited.

Reader's Guide

The opera's overture is often heard independently of the complete work. Its high-energy finale, 'March of the Swiss Soldiers', is particularly familiar through its use in the American radio and television shows of The Lone Ranger. Several portions of the overture were used prominently in the films A Clockwork Orange and The Eagle Shooting Heroes; in addition, Dmitri Shostakovich quotes the main theme of the finale in the first movement of his 15th symphony. The overture has four parts: 'The Prelude (Dawn)' written only for the cello section, double basses, and timpani; 'The Storm' played by the full orchestra with trombones; the 'Ranz des Vaches' featuring cor anglais and flute; and the finale 'March of the Swiss Soldiers' heralded by horns and trumpets. This performance was of the French version, with some cuts to particularly the fourth act (which Pappano noted had been approved by Rossini himself). The performance was very well reviewed, and marked the first full performance of the work in the history of the Proms.

Did You Know?

• The opera was Rossini's last, although he lived for nearly 40 more years.
• According to an anecdote, when an admirer told Rossini he had heard his opera the previous night, Rossini replied 'What? The whole of it?'

Rossini's Final Masterpiece and the Rescue of Its Score

Conductor Fabio Luisi has noted that Rossini intended the work to be his final operatic statement even while he was writing it. The piece is a French-language work in four acts, with a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L. F. Bis, drawing on Friedrich Schiller's play Wilhelm Tell, which itself was inspired by the Swiss founding legend. The opera's original orchestral score languished for years until Paris Opéra archivist Charles Malherbe spotted it in the possession of a second-hand bookseller. The opera's roughly four-hour runtime and demanding casting requirements, particularly the high tenor part, have made it a challenging undertaking for companies, and productions are frequently shortened.

Censorship, Political Violence, and a Turbulent Stage Life

The opera's glorification of a revolutionary figure challenging authority created significant friction with Italian censors, limiting productions in that country.

The Overture's Life Beyond the Stage

The four-part overture to Guillaume Tell has achieved a cultural life far removed from the full opera. Its structure moves from a contemplative Prelude, or Dawn, written solely for cellos, double basses, and timpani in E major, through a full-orchestral Storm in E minor, to a pastoral Ranz des Vaches featuring English horn and flute in G major, before erupting into the March of the Swiss Soldiers, an ultra-dynamic cavalry-charge galop in E major heralded by horns and trumpets. This finale became globally recognizable through its use in the American television and radio series The Lone Ranger. The work also appears in the films A Clockwork Orange and The Eagle Shooting Heroes, and Dmitri Shostakovich quoted the finale's main theme in the first movement of his Fifteenth Symphony. The overture is frequently performed independently of the complete opera.

Modern Revivals and the Return of the Full Work

The cast included Michele Pertusi as Tell, Patricia Bardon as Hedwige, Nicolas Courjal as Gessler, and Mark Stone as Leuthold.