Travel tips for opera lovers – Altdorf and Gioachino Rossini

The famous fourth act of Rossini’s opera “Guillaume Tell” with the ballet of the soldiers (“Pas des Soldats”) and the apple shot (“Sois-immobile”) takes place in the market square of Altdorf. Rossini himself had never seen the heart of Switzerland, but knew Geneva and part of the Alps of western Switzerland. For the premiere at the Grand Opéra in Paris, they sent the stage designer Cicéri to Central Switzerland, where he made sketches for the stage sets.