Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848, Italian composer. He studied music in Bergamo and Bologna and achieved success with his first opera, Enrico di Borgogna (1818). His early work was influenced by Rossini, but he later developed his own pleasantly melodic, often sentimental, style. Most popular of his more than 60 operas are Lucrezia Borgia (1833), Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), and Linda di Chamounix (1842), all serious operas; La Fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment, 1840), a French opéra comique; and L'Elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love, 1832) and Don Pasquale (1843), outstanding examples of opéra buffa. He also wrote songs, several symphonies, chamber music, oratorios, cantatas, and church music. In 1845 he became paralyzed, and he never composed again.

(born Nov. 29, 1797, Bergamo, Cisalpine Republic—died April 8, 1848, Bergamo, Lombardy, Austrian Empire) Italian opera composer. He was tutored and guided by the opera composer Simone Mayr (1763–1845). His opera Zoraida di Granata had a successful premiere in Rome in 1822, but it was Anna Bolena in 1830 that made his name internationally. Later successes included L'Elisir d'amore (1832), Lucrezia Borgia (1833), Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), Roberto Devereux (1837), La Fille du régiment (1840), and Don Pasquale (1843). Enormously prolific, he could produce an entire opera in weeks. He completed almost 70 operas, as well as more than 150 sacred works and hundreds of songs. Infected with syphilis, he suffered a severe four-year decline leading to his death. He was one of the foremost Italian opera composers of the early 19th century and a principal master of the bel canto style.

Learn more about Donizetti, (Domenico) Gaetano (Maria) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

See Gaetano Donizetti