Two Bits?The popular composer Jacques Francois Halevy was once infuriated to discover that an organ-grinder had stationed himself outside his home - and was busy grinding out tunes from Rossini's Barber of Seville.
At last, Halevy went outside and confronted the man. "I will give you one louis d'or," he offered, "if you will go around to Rossini's lodgings and play one of my tunes beneath his window."
The organ-grinder smiled. "But, monsieur," he replied. "M. Rossini has paid me two louis to play his music beneath yours!"
Rossini, Gioacchino Antonio (1792-1868) Italian opera composer [noted for such
works as
Tancredi (1823),
The Italian Girl in Algiers (1813),
The Barber of Seville (1816),
The Thieving Magpie (1817), and William Tell (1829)]
[Sources: S. Beach, Musicdotes]More Gioacchino Rossini anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
Practical Jokes Opera Music Bribery Surprises Teasing
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