Rossini: La Cambiale di Matrimonio

Launching one of opera's greatest careers, Gioacchino Rossini composed La Cambiale di Matrimonio in 1810, when he was all of 18 years old. This one-act farce follows the fortunes of English merchant Tobias Mill (baritone Bruno Praticò), as he prepares to marry off his daughter Fanny (soprano Alessandra Rossi) to a Canadian businessman whom neither has ever met. Not too surprisingly for an opera of this era, Fanny has already planned to wed someone else; hijinks ensue, but a happy ending is inevitable. On this 1999 recording, Rossini specialist Marcello Viotti leads the English Chamber Orchestra.