Gioachino Rossini (Ross-EE-nee) was a big man who loved to eat and enjoy life. His fellow Italians adored him and the beautiful melodies of his operas. The Overture to the William Tell opera is a concert favorite. The first theme is a lovely quiet melody played by the flutes. The second theme bursts in with a trumpet fanfare followed by a very fast melody that many people associate with "The Lone Ranger." However, you will know that Rossini wrote it for the William Tell Overture.

The Story of William Tell

The people of Switzerland were oppressed by an Austrian ruler named Gessler. To break the proud spirit of the Swiss, Gessler had mounted his cap on a pole in the public square and required each man to bow to the cap. William Tell refused to bow to anyone or anything. This made Gessler furious.

William Tell was noted for his great skill with the crossbow. Gessler thought of a cruel plan to bring him down. He ordered William Tell's young son to stand across the public square with an apple on his head. He ordered William Tell to shoot it off with one arrow, or his men would shoot the boy.

Gessler didn't believe that William Tell could hit the apple at such a distance. William took two arrows from his quiver, took careful aim, and split the apple in half, leaving his son unharmed.

Gessler asked Tell why he had taken two arrows from his quiver. William said, "If I had missed the apple and hurt my son, I would have killed you with the second arrow."

Gessler ordered William Tell led away to life in prison. However, Tell escaped. It is said that William Tell's arrow later killed Gessler and thus freed the Swiss from his tyrannical rule.

Rossini's William Tell Overture is a small tone poem, a poem in music rather than words. If possible, listen to a fully orchestrated version of the Overture. It begins with a beautiful slow section that depicts the rising of the sun over the Swiss mountains. A fast section follows in which we hear a storm. Then the quiet returns with a pastoral scene and a gentle mountain melody. Suddenly,  the Swiss soldiers arrive and we hear the famous Trumpet Fanfare.