Guillaume Tell and William Tell are the English names for two French operas. The first is a three-act drama set to music by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, with a libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine, based on Antoine-Marin Lemierre’s play of the same name, which premiered in Paris in 1791. The second is a four-act opera by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, based on the play Wilhelm Tell by German dramatist and poet Friedrich von Schiller, with a libretto by Etienne de Jouy and Hippolyte-Louis-Florent Bis, with help from Armand Marrast and Adolphe Crémieux. When Rossini’s William Tell premiered in Paris in 1829, Grétry’s work had to be updated to compete.
The themes of a people revolting against an oppressive regime would have struck a chord with the audience in Paris at the time, as Grétry’s William Tell premiered only a few years after the French Revolution, in 1789. The restored Bourbons, on the other hand, commissioned Rossini’s William Tell. The overture, particularly the section that was used as the theme music for The Lone Ranger, is perhaps the most well-known part of Rossini’s final opera.
The story of William Tell is set in Switzerland, where the Austrians are in power and resistance is growing. Both operas begin with a wedding that is disrupted. In each case, the oppressors interfere with the Swiss’ happy domestic life. In Act I of Gréty, William Tell’s daughter marries Melktal, the Canton chief’s son. Melktal senior is apprehended by Guesler, the Austrian commander. Melktal refuses to salute Guesler’s cap, and his eyes are gouged out as a result. As the guests depart to deal with the political situation, the party comes to an end.
The Swiss arrive in the village square in Act II of Grétry’s William Tell to discover that Tell has also been arrested for refusing to salute the cap. He is told to shoot an apple off his son’s head, which he does, but Guesler discovers that William Tell had a hidden arrow ready to shoot him if he failed the trial. Guesler has William Tell kidnapped and sentenced to death. As the revolt begins in Act III, Tell breaks free from prison. The Swiss defeat the Austrians after Tell shoots Guesler.
The news that a young Swiss man, Arnold Melcthal, is in love with the Austrian princess Mathilde opens Rossini’s William Tell. The action then shifts to a triple wedding, which is disrupted by the news that a Swiss herdsman has killed an Austrian soldier who attempted to rape the herdsman’s daughter. Request that volunteers transport him to safety. The Austrians are enraged by the escape and kidnap a hostage before sacking the village. Mathilde and Arnold meet in Act II, and he decides to join the Austrian army in order to please her. The Swiss notice what is going on and try to persuade Arnold to join the Swiss rebels instead, aided by the fact that Arnold’s father has just been murdered by the Austrians. The call to arms is sounded as the Swiss gather to swear allegiance.
In Act III of Rossini’s William Tell, Arnold feels compelled to abandon Mathilde and tells her so. Gesler has ordered a festival in the village square to commemorate 100 years of Austrian occupation, demanding that the Swiss salute his hat. Tell is not only arrested for refusing to salute the hat, but he is also identified as the person who helped the herdsman flee. He instructs his son to signal the start of the Swiss uprising, but the Austrians arrest him as well. Tell is freed after Gesler orders him to shoot an apple off his son’s head, which he does — until he confesses to having a second arrow aimed at Gesler, which leads to his re-arrest. Mathilde steps in to help and demands custody of Tell’s son. Tell is sent to a dangerous dungeon in the Küssnacht fortress by Gesler. Tell’s wife joins her son and Mathilde in Act IV, and the uprising is signaled. Tell manages to flee and kills Gesler. The village is liberated, and the Swiss rejoice in their country’s beauty and freedom.