The overture to La Gazza ladra by Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) is a favorite of concert audiences, even though the opera it was written for is rarely performed anymore.

Rossini once related a fascinating story about the opera's first performance at La Scala, Milan's world famous opera house, on May 13, 1817. "Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity," he wrote, "I composed the Overture to La Gazza ladra the day of its opening in the theater itself, where I was imprisoned by the director under the surveillance of the stagehands, who were instructed to throw my original text through the window, page by page, to the copyists waiting below to transcribe it." If he failed, Rossini said, they had instructions to toss HIM out the window!

Supposedly, the opera is based on a true story of a young woman who was sentenced to death for stealing a silver spoon. The actual culprit was a mischievous bird. Rossini's heroine, Ninetta is spared, but the real-life victim was executed before the truth was discovered.

As usual, the overture presents several themes that would follow in a performance of the opera. It also features Rossini's signature crescendo: a steadily building increase in loudness, along with energetic figures in the orchestra, that always creates an energetic, exciting impression.