Gaetano Donizetti (29 November 1797 - 8 April 1848) was a famous Italian opera composer. His most famous work is Lucia di Lammermoor (1835) He was born in Bergamo into a very poor family with no tradition of music, but in 1806 he was one of the first pupils to be enrolled in a charity school at Bergamo founded by Simon Mayr.
Donizetti is best known for his operatic works, but he also wrote music in a number of other forms, including some church music, a number of string quartets, and some orchestral works.
He is also the younger brother of Giuseppe Donizetti, who had become, in 1828, Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839).
Donizetti's vocal style enriched the Bel Canto tradition which Gioacchino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini had made popular. These three composers are generally accepted as the primary exemplars of early 19th century Bel Canto writing.
