Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/339

* ROSSINI. ROSTAND. with moderatp success. illiin the next two years he liail writleii pif^lit operas, all of them ])0r and sliortliveil. Taiicredi. his first iiii- jxirtaut work, was perforuied in ISl.S at Venice, and placed its coinpo.ser at once in the front ranl<. Ne.xt came L'ltaliana in Alycri (1813), II Turco in Italia (1814), and Aiinliutio in I'lihnira (1814). each of tlicni inferior to Tan- crcili. In S!i he was appointed musical director of the Theatre of San Carlo at Naples. II bar- bitic di ^cviglia, one of the most successful comic operas ever written, is said to have been composed in '20 days, and was tirst produced in ISIU at Rome, oicllo followed in 1817, as also did La Cenerciitola at Rome, and, La Gazza ladra at Naples. Before the close of his engage- ment at Naples (1823) he wrote Mose in Egitto, La donna del layo, Maometto secondo, and Zcl- mira. In 1823 ticmiraniidc was perfinnicd in Venice, after which Rossini went to Paris, and was given the directorship of the Italian opera, one of the most coveted prizes in the musical world; but his constitutional indolence unfitted liim for this position. In 1820 (SiiiUuumc Tell was produced, an opera considered one of his best works. In 1836 he returned to Italy, where, with the exception of a visit to Paris, he princi- pally resided till 1855. With Guillaume Tell, Rossini's operatic career luay be said to have closed, although his fame revived some time after, owing to his well-known Stabat Mater, a popular sacred work, almost secular in its musical style. Rossini was undoubted!}' the greatest lyrical com- poser of that school of Italian opera which has found its most radical antithesis in the art of Wagner. His music is marked by stirring melody, brilliant effects, and spontaneous vivac- ity, and at one time had considerable vogue, al- though to-day only four of his forty operas are ever heard. For his biography, consult Bevle (Paris, 1892), Pougin (ib., 1870), Zanolini (Bo- lo.gna, 1875), and Stittard (Leipzig, 18S2). ROS'SITEB^ Thomas Prichard (1817-71). An American portrait and historical painter, born in New Haven. Conn. He was a pupil of Nathaniel Jocelyn ; in 1838-40 he painted por- traits in London and Paris, and in 1841-40 he lived in Rome. Upon his return to New York City he became known as an historical painter, and in 1849 was elected a National Academician. He had a studio in Paris from 1853 to 1850. win- ning a gold medal at the Universal Exposition of 1855 for his "Venice in the Fifteenth Century" (1854). Among his works are: '■.Jews in Captiv- ity:" "The Wise and Foolish Virgins:" "The Home of Washington" (1858), painted together with Mignot: "Washington's First Cabinet;" and a series of pictures illustrating the "Life of Christ." He was a conscientious painter, but his pictures lacked spirit and animation. ROSS'LAND. A city in the Yale and Cariboo r)istriq,t of British Coiund)ia. Canada, 6 miles from the international boundary line, on railways connecting with the Canadian Pacific and with lines of the United States (Map: British Colum- bia. F 5). It has developed rapidly, owing to the rich mineral deposits of the vicinity. Gold is mined extensively, and silver and copper also arc found. A large smelter was constructed in 1890 at Trail, 12 miles distant by rail. Rossland was incorporated in 1897. Population, in 1901, 61,59. ROSSLAU, nis'lou. . mnniifactiirinK town of the Duihy of. halt, (Jermany. 4 iiiilcH by rail north of l)e-.sau, on the right hank of llieKlbc. Chemicals, sealing-wax, paper, machinery, wire goods, sugar, and bricks arc manufactured. Popu laticii. in 1900. 10,054; nearly nil Protestunljt. ROSSLYN, ros'lin. See Ro.tiUN. ROSSMASSLER, rAs'miVler. Kmil Adolf (18OU07). A (lerman naturalist, horn in lA'ipTAn, where he was educated. In 18.30 lie iH-.anie pro fessor of natural history in the Tharan5). Die desehiehte dri- Erdv (I85('i). Dux W'asser (1858), and Der Wald (1803). His great work was an Ikoiunirajihie dor curoiHiischcn iMnd- und SiissirusserMollusken (iH;i'tK2), with pluteH from his own drawings and in Tiiany caws litho- graphed by himself. Consult the autobiography, Mrin Leben und Strcben iiit 'erkehr mit der Xatur (edited by Russ, Hanover, 1874). ROSTAND, rft'stilN', Edmond (1868-). A Frciuh dramatist, born in Marseilles. Early in his career he went to Paris, and produced a vol- ume of verses of little imimrtance, entitled IjCS iiiii.'iardises. His first drama, />ts riqu€ii (acted 1894, publislied 1899), was a success in the rococo style, followed by IjC /(riiMx'.s.ic /oi»- taine (1890, published 1899), and La Samarilaine (1897, published 1898), "a gos|)el in three tab- leaux." as he called it, mystic and Pre-Raphael- ite. All these showed a preciosity of diction and a great talent for supple and sinuous verse. The}' gave, however, little promise of the joyous brilliancy of Cyrano de Jicr</erae { 1897), a suc- cess on two continents, and pronoimced by Fa- guet "the finest dramatic poem of half a century," though soljercr judgment may jjronounce it chami- ing rather than strong. This was founded on the life of an actual personage. (See Bekui-^hac, Savinien Cyrano dk.) Rostand's next play was historical. L'Aiglcm (1900) has for its central figure and ineffectual hero the unhappy Duke of Reichstadt. "Napoleon II." If, as is a.s-scrted. Rostand's first work is La fiamaritainc. he begun his dramatic development as a disciple of Tol- stoy and Maeterlinck. Rossetti and Verlaine. Les roman£S<iiics is more like the comedies of Musset, "brilliant stuff," as Leinaitre has called it, "sparkling with wit and glowing in places with a large and easy gaiety, frank light-heartedness. and plastic grace." La prinee.ise loinlainr has its scene also in I'topia, here called Tripoli, and in "any period, so that the costume be pretty." The" subject, the love of the troubadour prince .laufri'' Rudel for the fair .MCdisamle. which had attracted Heine. Browning, and Swinbnriic, pro- duces a result more beautiful as a pin than Cyrano or L'Aifflon, but less draniatii-ally cITeel- ive in presentation. Besides these dramas Ros- tand, who calls himself "the poet of preciosity," has depicted what has been styled "a pastel of Roxane's younger sister," in La journfc d'une pr^cieusc. which shows a member of the cliarnied circle of the Hotel de Randiouillet (([.v.) occu- pied with the innocent artifices of a fashionable bluestocking. Rostand was ideeted a member of the French Academy in 1901. For a critical esti- mate of his work, consult: Filon, Dc Dumas d
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