We may define the Rossini Renaissance as the reappearance of his forgotten operas after decades of neglect. The word ‘forgotten’ is an important qualifier because one opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia, was never forgotten, and in fact remained a constant presence in opera houses from its première in 1816. Even if we discount the anomalous popularity of Il barbiere, it would be inaccurate to say that Rossini ever completely disappeared from the repertory: performances cropped up every few years at one house or another. Still, there is no escaping the dwindling of his presence: both the number of Rossini's operas performed and the number of productions and performances of them declined.

It was not his other comic operas but the French serious ones – particularly Moïse/Mosè (as opposed to the Neapolitan Mosè in Egitto, 1818, of which it was a substantial revision) and Guillaume/Guglielmo Tell – that were most persistent in the six decades or so following the composer's death. A revival of the opere buffe began between the world wars – mostly L'italiana in Algeri and La Cenerentola but occasionally others – alongside the continued occasional presence of Mosè and Tell. In a Rossinian season in Paris in 1929 Guillaume Tell, L'italiana, La Cenerentola and Il barbiere were all presented. Largely missing were the opere serie and semiserie; aside from Semiramide at the 1940 Maggio Musicale, Florence, and La gazza ladra in an adaptation by Riccardo Zandonai in Pesaro, 1942, their revival took place after World War II, and this will be the focus of the remainder of this essay.