Composed by Rossini when he was 25, the opera "La Gazza Ladra" is based on the melodrama "La Vie Poleuse" and is a mixture of serious and comic opera, keeping a fine balance between comic and tragic elements, lightness and drama. Its first performance was at La Scala in Milan in 1817. Following this, Rossini continued to revise this opera until 1867, one year before his death.
Supposedly based on a true-life story, the plot is about a young innocent girl sentenced to death for having stolen some silverware. It becomes clear later in the opera that a magpie had stolen it so the girl is let free. The story, attractive to any opera lover, contains, among others, a blend of young love, family loyalty and strong friendship bonds.
In the beginning, the bombastic and march-like music reminds of the approaching gendarme troop, the drum rolls remind of gallows where executions were often accompanied by drum beats and rolls and the strong rhythm of the brass reminds of parades. Later on, the melody illustrates the image of the opera's main subject: a clever thieving magpie.
The legend says that the overture of "La Gazza Ladra" was overdue and the opera's promoter had to lock Rossini in a room and would not let him out until he wrote the overture. Rossini would throw each completed page out of the window for the copyists. Therefore, the first performance took place with almost no rehearsal...