''Rossini's Ghost'' is a 1996 HBO Original Film produced and directed by David Devine, with co-production by Richard Mozer.

Plot

The story centers around

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

, a composer whose friends never lose faith in him—even when things go wrong. A 9-year-old girl travels back in time through a magic mirror to be his invisible assistant, overcoming the disastrous opening night of ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'' to give the world one of its most beloved operas.

Cast

* Joseph Di Mambro (actor) as

* Melissa Pirerra as Relania *

Frances Bay Frances Evelyn Bay (née Goffman; January 23, 1919 – September 15, 2011) was a Canadian-American character actress. In a career that spanned 35 years, she acted in a variety of roles both in film and television. Bay was inducted in Canada's W ...

as Elder Rosalie **

Margaret Illmann Margaret L. Illmann (born 9 December 1965) is an Australian prima ballerina with an international career. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, she danced with The Australian Ballet between 1985 and 1989, in roles such as ''Beyond Twelve'' with Kel ...

as Young Rosalie * Janne Mortil as Young Martina **

Lally Cadeau Lally Cadeau (born Alice Mary Cadeau, 10 January 1948) is a Canadian stage, television, film, and radio actress. Life and career Alice Mary Cadeau was born in Burlington, Ontario, the youngest child and only daughter of a once-aspiring actres ...

as Elder Martina * Tony Nardi as Duke Cesarini

Production

The film was shot in the small mountain town of

Labin Labin (Italian/Istriot: Albona) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, with a town population of 5,806 (2021) and 10,424 in the greater municipality (which also includes the small towns of Rabac and Vinež, as well as a number of smaller villages). ...

, in Istria, Croatia. The film was released on DVD and has been watched in over 100 countries on television. The film and its corresponding Teacher's Guide is used in numerous U.S. elementary and middle schools by music teachers for music classes. ''Rossini's Ghost'' was the seventh of seven films made for HBO for the 7- to 14-year-old set, introducing them to the joys and the wonders of classical music and their composers.

Soundtrack

The CD and soundtrack, produced by David Devine for Sony MUSIC of New York, was composed by

, and was recorded at the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, with an 88-person symphony orchestra conducted by

Ondrej Lenárd Ondrej Lenárd (9 September 1942, Krompachy, Slovakia) is a Slovak conductor. He was principal conductor of the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1990 and of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra from 1991 to 2001, where his concert ...

. # Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia (

) – 7:29 # Overture to La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) - 6:37 # Overture to

L'italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...

(The Italian Girl in Algiers) - 8:35 # Overture to

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Feni ...

- 13:11 # Overture to

Il signor Bruschino ''Il signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo'' ''(Signor Bruschino, or The Accidental Son)'' is a one act operatic farce ( farsa giocosa per musica) by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based upon the 1809 play ''Le f ...

- 04:55 # Overture to

La cenerentola ' ('' Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera ''Cendrillon'' ...

(Cinderella) - 8:30 # Overture to

La gazza ladra ''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caig ...

(The Thieving Magpie) - 10:17 # Overture to Guillaume Tell (

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, a ...

) - 11:42

References

External links

*
Devine Entertainment's Web site
1996 films 1996 drama films Films set in Italy Films set in the 1810s Films set in the 1860s Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films shot in Croatia American drama films Gioachino Rossini 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-drama-film-stub