Rossini! Rossini! (1991) [Italian/American]

This is an odd one for me. I first heard of it when Jacqueline appeared on "Entertainment Tonight" in 1991, while it was being filmed. She played one of Rossini's lovers, and was doing her lines in English. Phillipe Noiret (I believe) played Rossini, and did his lines in Italian. Then Jacqueline's lines were going to be dubbed into Italian for the Italian release, and Noiret's lines dubbed into English for the American version. Jacqueline played a Spanish opera singer, and said she had been told at one point to be prepared to lip-synch 10 minutes of opera. But in the end they only filmed about a minute.

I waited for word of an American release of the film, and really never heard anything again. It was not listed in the IMDb (it is now) or Halliwell's film guide. At that point I thought maybe the film had never been completed. But in 1997, one of Jacqueline's fans from Portugal e-mailed me to say that the film had been released in Italy and France. It was directed by Mario Monicelli. [It seems to me that at one time I heard Robert Altman's name connected with a film about Rossini. Either he dropped out of this one (which may explain why there was no American release), or it was a rival project that never got produced. Or I am misremembering.]

"Rossini! Rossini!" is not available on video in the US. Maybe in some parts of Europe?