Gaetano Donizetti

Jeremy Tambling (University of Hong Kong)
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Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797-1848), composer of over sixty-five operas, (on average, four a year for his working life of twenty-five years, not including the non-operatic works not discussed here), was born and died in Bergamo, Italy. His career overlapped those of both Rossini and Verdi. He was taught music by the Bavarian-born opera composer Simon Mayr (1763-1845),

maestro di cappella

at S. Maria Maggiore, and by Padre Stanislao Mattei (1750-1825), Rossini’s teacher at Bologna. His first success was an

opera seria

,

Zoraida di Granata

at the Teatro Argentina in 1822. He was taken on by the impresario Domenico Barbaia to work in Naples (1822-1838), with a period at Palermo (1825-26) and visits to Rome, where he married Virginia Vasselli (1808-37) in 1828. She died of cholera,…

2071 words

Citation: Tambling, Jeremy. "Gaetano Donizetti". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 September 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1285, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1285 Gaetano Donizetti 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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