Gioachino Rossini: L'assedio di Corinto (Giusto ciel, in tal periglio)

Philhellenic sentiment in Europe, which inspired numerous literary and artistic works, also manifested itself in the realm of music. The heroic struggle for Greek independence was rendered in waltzes, operas and musical comedies. Gioachino Rossini's opera L'assedio di Corinto (The Siege of Corinth), which was performed for the first time in 1826 in Paris, is an allegorical reference to the siege and destruction of Mesolongi. Giusto ciel, in tal periglio in the second movement of the opera praises the Greek heroes who loved their homeland as much as God, and who wanted to gain victory or die young ("Vincer giova o perir/Per nostro Dio, per la Grecia/ne accenda egual desio").

Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868), L'assedio di Corinto (Giusto ciel, in tal periglio), 1826, 4'37 min. Soprano: Elena Dante, pianist: M. Riccardo Mascia, concert in the conservatory of Vicenza, 2008; source: http://archive.org/details/GioacchinoRossiniG.Rossini-Giustociel_intalperiglio.

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