In the nineteenth century, piano transcriptions of popular operas were a major channel for distributing music and increasing a work’s popularity. For pianists such as Thalberg they were also a vehicle for demonstrating their technical prowess, in a form with which audiences were familiar. This recital presents a fine cross-section of Rossini’s output as an operatic composer. The Barber of Seville has retained its place on the world’s operatic stages since its first performance in 1816. Its tunefulness and rhythmic vigour present Thalberg with many opportunities for exhilarating pianistic display. In the Fantasias on Moïse and Semiramide, both based on ancient history, Thalberg reproduces the beauty of melodic line as well as much of the drama of both these operas. La donna del lago, based on Sir Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake, is a romantic story of love in the Scotland of James V. Thalberg treats his chosen arias wit perception, embellishing them in characteristic and often dramatic style.