"Rossini in Wildbad" Wildbad im Schwarzwald by Nemorino

Wildbad im Schwarzwald Travel Guide: 17 reviews and 118 photos

One of the mysteries of operatic history is why the composer Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) abruptly stopped composing in 1829 at the age of 37, when he was at the height of his powers and had just had a huge success with his opera Wilhelm Tell. Since he was a prolific composer who churned out two or more operas a year with little apparent effort, nobody expected him to just stop. But that's exactly what he did.

Rossini in Wildbad

His own explanation was that after nearly forty operas in less than twenty years he had done more than his share of composing, and since his operas had made him filthy rich there was no reason he shouldn't buy a large house near Paris and devote the rest of his life (he was to live for thirty-nine more years) to his two favorite hobbies, gourmet cooking and gourmet dining.

By all accounts he enjoyed his new lifestyle immensely, but after a quarter century it started to take its toll on his health. In our century, the 21st, a sensible doctor would probably advise this sort of patient to cut down on his calorie intake and get some exercise, but in the 19th the treatment of choice was to send these patients (those who could afford it) to one of the fashionable new German spas that were opening up at the sites of mineral springs in scenically attractive areas.

And so it happened that the ex-opera-composer Rossini spent several weeks in 1856 taking the waters at a place called Wildbad in the Black Forest.

Kurtheater in Bad Wildbad

As a paid-up member of the German Rossini Society I had been meaning for several years to go to the annual Belcanto Opera Festival "Rossini in Wildbad", and in the summer of 2006 I finally did it. In two days I saw three rarely-staged operas, only one of which was by Rossini, and a recital of rarely-sung vocal works, most of which were in fact composed by the master himself.

In 1991 the name of the town was officially changed to Bad Wildbad, and since that word now appears twice in its name you might suspect that this town is twice as bad as the other spas. Which it isn't, though it does have that typical spa-like feeling of creepiness about it.

Their advertising features a statuesque young woman swimming in a medicinal pool and then getting a full-body rubdown with mud, for medicinal reasons presumably. But when you arrive in Wildbad you soon realize that statuesque young women are not their main clientele.

Last visit to Wildbad im Schwarzwald: Jul 2006
Intro Updated Jan 28, 2012
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Reviews (5)

1. The S6 in Bad Wildbad - Wildbad im Schwarzwald

The S6 tramway Transportation (1)

Wildbad has had a railway line since 1869, when the Enz Valley Railway was built to bring the rich and the powerful up... more travel advice

1. In the Sommerbergbahn - Wildbad im Schwarzwald

Sommerbergbahn Off The Beaten Path (1)

From the Uhlandplatz in the center of Bad Wildbad there is a funicular railway that goes up to the top of the nearby... more travel advice

1. Hotel Bären in Bad Wildbad - Wildbad im Schwarzwald

Rossini slept here Things to Do (3)

Then as now, the Hotel Bären (Bear Hotel) was an elegant and fashionable establishment directly on the Kurplatz in the... more travel advice

1. The Kurhaus in Bad Wildbad - Wildbad im Schwarzwald

Operas in the Kurhaus Things to Do (3)

The evening performances are held in the more prosaic, but larger, venue of the Kurhaus. Second photo: The first opera... more travel advice

Comments (36)

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alancollins Oct 17, 2012 at 12:49 AM

The views look good from the Sommerberg.
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Yaqui Mar 26, 2012 at 8:49 PM

The funicular railway looks fun and the Kurtheater is wonderful gem and I am glad they saved it. Neat page!
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toonsarah Mar 14, 2012 at 1:31 PM

The little Kurtheater is very pretty, and like everyone else I enjoyed the humour of the surtitles! Love the view from the Sommerberg too. And I was very interested in your intro about Rossini's approach to his retirement ;-)
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MalenaN Nov 17, 2011 at 11:31 PM

Interesting information about Rossini, how he stopped composing to live the "good life"!
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german_eagle Jun 1, 2011 at 1:29 AM

These surtitles are too funny :-) Cute little town, lovely page, thanks!
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Kathrin_E May 24, 2011 at 12:38 PM

What a cute little theater. Still laughing my head off about the surtitles...
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fabrice Dec 1, 2010 at 2:06 AM

schwarzwald is so beautiful
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xaver Nov 5, 2010 at 3:50 PM

the restorated side of Kurtheater looks beautiful let's hope they go on that way.
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nicolaitan Sep 21, 2009 at 5:23 AM

cute little kurtheater, cute little town. of course i would have hit on that classic church in the background. i love these opera stories and a translator with a sense of humor. spa ads - same here, all beautiful women.
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angiebabe Aug 16, 2009 at 12:38 AM

Hi thanks for visiting my solitary tip on my Roskilde pg - theres a lot more to see there so I must get in....!but another excellent little page here!Ive had many visits to&around the Black Forest-with a good friend at Tuttlingen. Have a good day today!