About the work
Guillaume Tell (William Tell) is a grand opera in four acts by Gioachino Rossini, premiered in Paris in 1829. It was Rossini's last and most ambitious opera—after it he withdrew from opera composition at only 37. Based on Schiller's drama, the work founded French grand opera.
Plot
In fourteenth-century Switzerland, oppressed by the Habsburgs, resistance grows against the tyrannical governor Gessler. The freedom fighter William Tell allies himself with the Confederates, while the young Arnold is torn between his love for the Habsburg princess Mathilde and loyalty to his homeland. When Tell refuses to salute Gessler's hat, the governor forces him into the famous shot of an apple from his son's head. Tell hits the mark but is arrested; his liberation ignites the uprising that culminates in Switzerland's freedom.
Cultural significance
Guillaume Tell is a milestone of operatic history, its overture among the most famous orchestral pieces in the world. With its monumental form, grand choruses, and the union of private drama and political struggle for freedom, the work shaped the genre of grand opera. Because of its enormous demands, especially on the tenor, the complete version is rarely given, yet the work remains a cornerstone of the repertoire.