La gazza ladra (Italian pronunciation: [la ˈɡaddza ˈlaːdra], The Thieving Magpie) is a melodramma or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on La pie voleuse by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez. The Thieving Magpie is best known for the overture, which is musically notable for its use of snare drums.

The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, the Patriotic War of 1812, and the War of 1812, was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental blockade of the United Kingdom.Napoleon's invasion of Russia is one of the best studied military campaigns in history …

Die Ouvertüre 1812 entspricht vom Wesen her einer Battaglia und folgt im Wesentlichen dem Aufbau einer solchen: Aufstellung der Heere – Kampflärm – Siegeslied (vgl. hierzu etwa Beethovens Wellingtons Sieg oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria).Das Stück wird mit feierlichen Klängen eingeleitet, die an die Gottesdienste in russischen Kirchen nach der Kriegserklärung …