No, sir: Ricciardo e Zoraide is not an obscure opera from the young Rossini. In the same year, 1818, the maestro had already stunned the world of lyrical music with Tancredi, L'Italiana in Algeri, Il turco in Italia , The Barber of Seville, Otello, La cenerentola, La gazza ladra and a good fifteen or so others. But then, why should the "drama" Riccardo e Zoraide remain in the shade, even today when there is something of a fashion for unearthing forgotten works? Let's just say that the script is worse even than most badly-put-together scripts. As Richard Osborne has it (in Rossini, his life and work), "with all these details, the work reads like a Marlowe epic re-written by the Marx brothers; only Rossini's music brings to life and carries these crude dramatic archetypes." … And yet: what a musical treasure! From the overture... There isn't an overture, at least, not one of those overtures which is pretty much interchangeable between operas: Rossini unfolds an ample musical prologue, which describes the start of the action, with the rather spectacular addition of a backstage orchestra. Airs, ensembles, choirs, the score contains innumerable splendours and it would be a crying shame for them to go unheard. We should add that after its first performance in 1818, Ricciardo e Zoraide was performed all over Europe, translated into German and French, and given a last outing at la Scala in 1846, before disappearing until 1990, and then falling out of sight yet again, before being unearthed for a performance at the Wildbad Rossini Festival 2013 in Germany. And here is a live recording of that very concert: a discographic rarity which merits discovery. © SM/Qobuz