25 Opera Favorites

This compilation leads off with the closing episode from the overture to Rossini's opera William Tell, about which Wikipedia states:
"The Finale, often called the 'March of the Swiss Soldiers' in English, is in E major like the Prelude, but is an ultra-dynamic galop heralded by trumpets and played by the full orchestra. It alludes to the final act which recounts the Swiss soldiers' victorious battle to liberate their homeland from Austrian repression. Although there are no horses or cavalry charges in the opera, this segment is often used in popular media to denote galloping horses, a race, or a hero riding to the rescue. Its most famous use in that respect is as the theme music for The Lone Ranger, so famous that the term 'intellectual' has been defined as 'a man who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.' The Finale is also quoted by Dmitri Shostakovich in the first movement of his Symphony No. 15."

View catalog record here!