In the 1800's a man named Giochino Rossini composed an opera (which is a play with music and singing) about William Tell.

19 pages. [13][14], According to an anecdote, when an admirer told the composer that he had heard his opera the previous night, Rossini replied "What? They leave, amid conflicting cries of "Anathema on Gesler" from the people, and "Long live Gesler" from the soldiers. Leuthold arrives, telling the assembled villagers that the boat carrying Tell, Gesler and the soldiers is being driven towards the rocks by a storm that has broken over the lake – Leuthold believes that the chains have been removed from Tell's hands, so that he might pilot the boat to safety. In some versions, Mathilde, Jemmy and Hedwige sing a moving trio (Je rends a votre amour un fils digne de vous – "I return to your love a son worthy of you"). Inspired, he devises his test: Tell must shoot an arrow through an apple balanced on Jemmy's head – should he refuse, both of them will die. [5] As Hofer, or the Tell of the Tyrol, the opera was first performed at Drury Lane in London on 1 May 1830 (in English), with a production in Italian following in 1839 at Her Majesty's, and in French at Covent Garden in 1845. When he tells her that it was Gesler who had his father executed, she denounces his crime, and recognises the impossibility of their love (Pour notre amour, plus d'espérance – "All hope for our love has gone"). According to the legend, Tell, a bit of a hot-headed fellow it seems, gave the tyrannical Austrian leader Gessler (or his hat to be precise) the proverbial finger before killing him for good measure. They question Arnold as to why he loves Mathilde, a member of the oppressing Austrians. His wife and son add their own interpretation of Ruodi's song, presaging the coming nautical dramas. He’d heard of the man’s prowess with a crossbow so ordered that he must shoot an apple from the top of his son’s head, only if he succeeded would both their lives be spared.

To the horror of the Swiss, Tell’s apple-shooting antics bear a remarkable resemblance to an old Viking tale that predates the Swiss legend by around 400 years. Resolved, they leave to storm Altdorf and free Tell. In Wilhelm Tell, seinem letzten Drama, verarbeitet Schiller den Gründungsmythos der Schweiz und verknüpft diesen mit der sagenumwobenen Figur des Meisterschützen. Gessler knew this, and so he thought of a cruel plan to make the hunter's own skill bring him to grief. Arnold, offended by their spying, declares his intention to continue fighting for the Austrians, and thus gain glory, rather than liberty. The action opens on an idyllic scene, with the local peasants busily preparing chalets for three newly wedded couples, singing as they work (Quel jour serein le ciel présage – "What a serene day the sky foretells"). Critical Essay by Jeffrey L. Sammons . Rodolphe expresses concern at attempting a journey on the lake in the storm, but Gesler intends to force Tell, an expert boatman, to pilot the vessel. In quick succession, they are joined by the men of Schwyz (En ces temps de malheurs) and Uri (Guillaume, tu le vois). Everything you need to understand or teach William Tell. William Tell stands apart from the general merriment, however: he is consumed with ennui at Switzerland's continued oppression (Il chante, et l'Helvétie pleure sa liberté – "He sings, and Helvetia mourns her liberty"). Truly, he was a despicable man. It’s also a tale that bound Switzerland into what it is today, a curious conglomeration of 26 very different mini-states that somehow make a country. It is the day of the Shepherd Festival, in May, near Lake Lucerne. During the 15th century, in the Swiss canton of Uri, the legendary hero Wilhelm Tell leads the people of the forest cantons in rebellion against tyrannical Austrian rule. No judgement here. In a complex choir and quartet, the soldiers express their hesitation at arresting this famed archer (C'est là cet archer redoutable – "It's that redoubtable archer"), Gesler forces them to act, and Tell urges Jemmy to flee, but he prefers to stay with his father.

These cards spread across the Austro-Hungarian Empire and are still the most common German-suited playing cards in that part of the world today. The gathered Swiss fighters and women sing a paean to the magnificence of nature and the return of freedom in a lyrical C major (Tout change et grandit en ces lieux... Liberté, redescends des cieux – "Everything is changing and growing grander in this place... Liberty, descend again from heaven") as the ranz des vaches motif returns once again and finally. [3] In 1864 Offenbach quoted the patriotic trio from Act 2, "Lorsque la Grèce est un champ de carnage" in La Belle Hélène.[3]. The opera was Rossini's last, although he lived for nearly 40 more years. Gesler announces his intention to take Tell across Lake Lucerne to the fort at Kusnac/Küssnacht, and there to throw him to the reptiles in the lake. The musician Andy Stewart added lyrics and the song in 1961 became a hit under the name "A Scottish Soldier".

Tell was carted off and tossed onto a boat.

[6] Another version of the story refers only to Act II. From here, Tell is said to have met with other men from three Swiss cantons who had defied the Austrian rule.