This private collection, comprising autographs, manuscript and printed music scores, librettos, prints and musical and theatrical mementos regarding Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
Within the autographed collection there are works of rare interest such as an alternative "finale" for William Tell and parts of the original score from Moïse et Pharaon, performed in Paris in 1826; many pages of chamber music, some of which were part of his Péchés de vieillesse.
In addition to musical scores by Rossini, there are also scores written by his contemporaries, such as a duet by Donizetti, an aria by Pacini, a cantata by Manuel Garcia, and a hymn by Halévy, among others.
More than 250 letters written by Rossini are included in the collection, and most of them are part of the Vivazza Archives: a series of booklets, hand-bound by Giuseppe Rossini, the composer's father. The booklets contain all of the letters written by Rossini between 1830 and 1838, as well as theatre contracts signed by the composer, copies of the original newspapers with reviews and articles about his music that Rossini sent to his father, and letters sent by impresarios, librettists, and editors to Rossini.
There are also collections of letters and documents regarding all of the major composers and performers of melodramas until the early 1800s. Names such as Cimarosa, Paisiello, Mayr, Carafa, Mercadante, Donizetti, Crescentini and many more can be found in this collection. The collections of printed editions offers a sample of the Italian, German and French musical repertoire of the period. Rossini's complete works in the original by Breitkopf & Härtel, Simrock, Schott & Sons, Pacini, Carli, Boieldieu, Ricordi, Girard, and Lorenzi, among others, can also be found. Other prestigious editions of the principal representatives of Italian melodrama of the period can also be found, such as Mayr, Paër, and Donizetti.
Numerous editions of the works of Gluck, Mozart and Haydn are present in this collection, as well as the most important librettos of the period.
In this collection there are many stage and costume designs from Rossini operas as well as from works by his contemporaries. Works by Alessandro Sanquirico, the stage designer of the Teatro alla Scala, are of particular interest. In addition, among the holdings are some of the rarest examples of stage set and costume designs ever done in Naples.