Donizetti, Gaetano

Donizetti, Gaetano (1797-1848), Italian operatic composer, born in Bergamo, and educated in music at the Naples Conservatory and at the Liceo Filarmonico, Bologna. He composed 65 operas and operettas; his fourth opera, Enrico di Borgogna (1818), was his first work to be staged. He did not become widely known until his 33rd opera, Anna Bolena, was produced in 1830. Donizetti's musical style, considerably influenced by that of Gioacchino Rossini, is characterized by brilliant and graceful melodies, designed chiefly for virtuoso singers. The most important works of Donizetti are the grand opera Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), his most popular work, based on the novel The Bride of Lammermoor by the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott; the grand opera Linda di Chamounix (1842); and the light operas L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love, 1832), La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment, 1840), and Don Pasquale (1843).