Gioachino Rossini was summoned to Paris in 1824 to breathe new life into its opera culture, and one of his most exciting innovations in this period was the creation of an entirely new genre of opera comedy. The risque tale of Le Comte Ory had its origins in vaudeville theatre and is based on the story of a villainous count who attempts the seduction of Countess Adele as she awaits the return of her husband from the Crusades. Le Comte Ory is the last of Rossini's comic operas, making full use of the libretto's farcical disguises and humour in one of his most colourfully orchestrated scores.