Gioachino Rossini wrote thirty-nine operas by age thirty-seven, including The Barber of Seville and William Tell. Then he stopped. He lived another thirty-nine years, became a celebrated gourmet, hosted legendary dinner parties in Paris, and never wrote another opera. No one has ever fully explained why.

This episode traces Rossini from his childhood in provincial Italy through his domination of European opera and the mysterious retirement that baffled his contemporaries.

• He composed The Barber of Seville in just two to three weeks
• He retired from opera at thirty-seven and never returned despite living to seventy-six
• He became famous in retirement as a gourmet and host of elite Parisian salons
• The William Tell Overture became one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music