Gaetano Donizetti was among the most important composers of bel canto opera in both Italian and French in the first half of the 19th century. Many of his more than 60 operas are still part of the modern repertoire and continue to challenge singers with their musical and technical demands. Donizetti stands stylistically between Rossini and Verdi; his scenes are usually more expanded in structure than those of Rossini, but he never blurred the lines between set pieces and recitative as Verdi did in his middle-period and late works. Often compared to his contemporary Bellini, Donizetti produced a wider variety of operas and showed a greater stylistic flexibility, even if he never quite achieved the sheer beauty of Bellini's greatest works. Donizetti was educated in Bergamo, Italy, the town of his birth, studying with the opera composer Simon Mayr from 1806 to 1814. His youthful works include chamber operas, religious works, and some chamber music. Donizetti's first opera of note was La Zingara, which was premiered in Naples in 1822. He continued to work in Naples throughout the 1820s and 1830s, where he was active as both a conductor and composer. In 1830, Donizetti finally achieved international fame with his opera Anna Bolena; notable for its expressive music and more extended scenes, it established Donizetti as one of the leading contemporary opera composers. The comic opera L'elisir d'amore (1832) and the tragic Lucrezia Borgia (1833) came shortly after. His next work was Maria Stuarda, followed the same year by Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), which became an internationally recognized masterpiece. The Elizabethan tragedy Roberto Devereux (1837) completed his trilogy of operas that chronicle the English court from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I. Donizetti's operas from the late 1830s were unable to match the success of Lucia, and he was often frustrated by the royal censors. When he was passed over for the directorship of the Naples Conservatory in 1840, he moved to Paris. There he composed the opera comique La fille du Régiment (1840), which was celebrated immediately for its charm and virtuosity. Later that year, he completed La favorite (1840), another major contribution to the French repertoire. In 1842 Donizetti was appointed kapellmeister of the Austrian court in Vienna, but he retained his association with Paris, traveling between the two cities and Italy several times. Among Donizetti's last operas are Maria di Rohan (1843), an important historic opera, and his French tragedy Dom Sébastian (1843). Caterina Cornaro (1843) is also one of his finest works for its strong dramatic content. These late operas, although rarely performed, are serious works that set the standard for Verdi. Around the time of these operas, the effects of Donizetti's syphilis infection, with which he had suffered since the late 1820s, started taking a real toll on his health. He was confined to an institution outside of Paris in early 1846, but released to friends who moved him back to Bergamo in the fall of 1847. He died in April 1848, and although initially buried in the Bergamo cemetery, his remains were later moved to the Santa Maria Maggiore Cathedral along with those of his teacher, Mayr. ~ Steven Coburn, Rovi

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Gaetano Donizetti

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