Comic opera had a real story that people liked; it had dramatic variety; and, musically, it had strong melodies and even strong supporting orchestral parts, including a strong "stand-alone" overture (i.e., you could even enjoy the overture as an independent orchestral piece). Verdi was also enthusiastic because the music was by a southern Italian and the text by a northerner, which appealed to Verdi's pan-Italian vision. The genre was developed further in the 19th century by Gioachino Rossini in his masterpieces such as "The Barber of Seville" (1816) and "La Cenerentola" (1817). French composers eagerly seized upon the Italian model and made
Gioachino Rossini matrimonio" ("The Marriage Contract"), was produced at Venice when he was a youth of 18 years. Two years before this he had already received the prize at the Conservatorio of Bologna for his cantata "Il pianto d'Armonia sulla morte d'Orfeo". Between 1810 and 1813 at Bologna, Rome, Venice and Milan, Rossini produced operas of varying success, most notably "La pietra del paragone" and "Il signor Bruschino", with its brilliant and unique overture. In 1813, "Tancredi" and "L'italiana in Algeri" were even bigger successes, and catapulted the 20-year-old composer to international fame. The libretto for "Tancredi" was an arrangement by Gaetano