Rossini was an Italian bridge composer between the Romantic and Classical eras and a major influence in Italian opera during these periods. Additionally, he is characterized as one of the main composers in the Bel Canto period of opera. This period is defined as Italian text sung with beauty of vocal tone, virtuosity, and flowing musical phrases. Rossini’s opera, Maometto II, was first performed in Naples, Italy in 1820. It is a historical opera set in Venice in the year of 1476 when the Venetian colony succumbed to the Turkish forces. The soprano in the opera, Anna, is the daughter of the governor of the Venetian colony. She sings “Guisto ciel, in tal periglio” as a prayer to God as the Turkish armies invade the Venetian colony.
