REACH wrote:
Q26: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. What was the last opera by Rossini? Answer: William Tell
Thanks, REACH. After BLUMAX posted I couldn't recall whether the question referenced Rossini or Verdi (Falstaff). But you also have me shuddering at a memory which I thought I'd suppressed.
Some years back, in a Showdown long ago and far away, we were asked to identify Rossini's first opera. I think I hit every button, except of course for the correct one. The answer given was
Demetrio e Publio, a thing of which I had never heard. The question came late in the quiz. It might have been Final Showdown. In any event, I couldn't strip the dropdown box at all. And I know as much about Rossini as your average opera season ticket holder, which I was at the time. (Then engaged to Catwoman, who enjoyed dressing up and flaunting her feline charms.)
So I went home to get to the bottom of this enigma. I have a wonderfully well-edited translation of Stenhal's "Life of Rossini", and sure enough, right there on P. 479, near the top of Appendix II, was "Demetrio e Publio". But get this: it was listed as a Student Work, and while written in 1806, DeP didn't receive its first public performance until 1812, when Rossini's career had already been launched on the strength of more mature operas.
If you wish, you may read this as a cautionary tale.