The most famous are The Pirate (1827), The Capulets and the Montagues (1830), The Sleepwalker (1831), Norma (1831), and The Puritans (1835). His works, which rely strongly on beautiful vocal melody (bel canto), rivaled those of his contemporaries Gioacchino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti in popularity
born Nov. 3, 1801, Catania, Sicily died Sept. 23, 1835, Puteaux, France Italian composer. Born into a musical family, he was educated at the Naples Conservatory. He wrote his first opera at age 24 and went on to complete nine more before his death at age
born April 5, 1801, Turin, Piedmont died Nov. 26, 1852, Paris, France Italian philosopher and politician whose writings helped bring about the unification of the Italian states. Ordained a priest (1825), he became court chaplain of Sardinia (1831), but was briefly imprisoned (1833) for involvement in a republican plot. He exiled himself to Paris and Brussels, where he published works advocating a united Italy headed by the pope. He returned to Italy in 1847 and became premier of Sardinia-Piedmont (1848-49). His philosophy centered on his concept of being and is termed "ontologism