Gioachino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer known for his 39 operas, as well as a number of songs, chamber works, piano pieces, and sacred music. He established new standards in both comic and serious opera before ceasing large‑scale composition while still in his thirties, at the height of his popularity.

Rossini began composing by age twelve and attended a music school in Bologna. His first opera was staged in Venice in 1810 when he was eighteen. In 1815 he received an engagement to write operas and manage theatres in Naples. Between 1810 and 1823 he wrote thirty‑four operas for the Italian stage, which were performed in venues such as Venice, Milan, Ferrara, Naples and other cities. During that period he produced his most popular works, including the comic operas *L'italiana in Algeri*, *Il barbiere di Siviglia* (known in English as *The Barber of Seville*) and *La Cenerentola*.