Gaetano Donizetti

Gaetano Domenico Maria Donizetti (Bergamo, 29 November 1797 – there, 8 April 1848) was an Italian opera composer. Several of his operas remain in the repertoire to this day.

Donizetti was born in the Borgo Canale (the lower part) of Bergamo, built on a hill, as a member of a simple family. The family was not known to be musical, though he had an older brother Giuseppe, who would also become a musician. Donizetti received excellent training from Johann Simon Mayr (1763-1845), who – himself an innovative composer successful in his time before Rossini – maintained a good relationship with Donizetti until his death. Mayr was kapellmeister in Bergamo, to which Donizetti also returned after attending the Liceo Filarmonico in Bologna. In Bologna he received lessons from Mattei Stanislao (a thorough theoretical teacher of – later – Rossini).

From a young age he stood out for the great ease with which he produced melodies and complete compositions and also for abilities that reminded one of Mozart. He was able to reproduce the complete score of one of his teacher's operas simply by listening to three live performances. This ease of composing was naturally a tremendous advantage for the hectic opera business, especially in Italy at that time, which had opera companies with premieres in every provincial town. He worked in a disciplined manner on a strict schedule and thus he met his deadlines.