Italian opera in bringing the art form back to life again. Romantic opera, which placed emphasis on the imagination and the emotions began to appear in the early 19th century, and because of its arias and music, gave more dimension to the extreme emotions which typified the theater of that era. In addition, it is said that fine music often excused glaring faults in character drawing and plot lines. Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) initiated the Romantic period. His first success was an "opera buffa" (comic opera), "La Cambiale di Matrimonio" (1810). His reputation still survives today through his "Barber of Seville" (1816), and
Madeleine Boyd Dvořák, with the director Alessandro Talevi. She has worked primarily in Europe with the American opera director Thaddeus Strassberger and the South African opera director Alessandro Talevi. Notable productions include Set and Costume Design: "La Cenerentola", by Gioachino Rossini for Malmö Opera, Sweden; "Orfeo ed Euridice" by Christoph Willibald Gluck, at Theater Augsburg, November 2007; "La Gazzetta" by Gioachino Rossini, Rossini in Wildbad Festival, July 2007. Her designs for Elizabeth Maconchy's one-act operas "The Sofa" and "The Departure", for Independent Opera at Sadler's Wells, in November 2007, were received with acclaim. The Chandos label released a recording of both operas