Biography
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), born in Bergamo, was one of the most prolific opera composers in history and the leading Italian operatic voice between Rossini and Verdi. Donizetti produced nearly seventy operas across his career, combining speed of composition with genuine melodic inspiration. His greatest works include Anna Bolena (1830), L'Elisir d'Amore (1832), Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), La Fille du Régiment (1840), and Don Pasquale (1843)—the latter composed entirely in Paris as the composer's health declined. The so-called Tudor Queens trilogy (Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux) represents the summit of bel canto historical drama. Donizetti suffered from advanced syphilis in his final years; his mental decline was severe, and he died in Bergamo in 1848 at fifty-one. Many of his operas have entered the core repertoire with revivals spanning the past six decades.
On Stagelog
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