Portrait thought to be of horn player Luigi Belloli

Hiding somewhere in this room is a painting depicting probably the only iconographic representation of Luigi Belloli, the greatest Italian horn player of the first half of the nineteenth century.
He was a student of the legendary Giovanni Punto (Jan Václav Stich) for whom none other than Beethoven wrote a sonata and which is still often performed today.
An account of the performances of this sonata from a newspaper published in Pest, Hungary, has become legendary. “Who is this Beethoven? This name is not known to us. I’m sure Punto is much better known”.
From 1803, Belloli was the principal horn in the La Scala orchestra and subsequently became professor of horn and trumpet at the Conservatoire. Mastery of both instruments is not surprising. Rossini’s father also played both instruments.
The horn, held in the hand, is a “natural” instrument, that is, without valves.
The full chromatic scale, impossible on the trumpet before the invention of valves, was however possible on the horn (although with a different timbre) by inserting the hand into the bell.
This painting should really be placed next to those of Cavallini and Rolla, in Room 4, and serves to remind us of the deep roots of musical excellence running through our Theatre’s orchestra.