I cannot think that I have ever read a more interesting book on classical music than Divas and Scholars. Based on my training, I have always assumed that Rossini was simply the end of the Neapolitan school of opera which began with Alesandro Scarlatti, and while it is true that he is deeply steeped in the Neapolitan tradition, dramatically and structurally he leads the transition to Romantic Italian opera. The material on Rossini alone is deeply fascinating.
Accompanying the scholars on their quest, matching them at every turn with performances of astounding quality, in fact leading the charge to Rossini revival is the one and only Marilyn Horne. I kneel.
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One cannot (I hope) write about Marilyn Horne without broaching the subject of "Le Prophete." Her position and influence at the Met in the late 1970s was instrumental in the revival of this Meyerbeer grand opera, the only one that's been performed at the Met in the last 75 years. The role of Fides perfectly suited her dramatic voice and imposing (yet feminine) demeanor.
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