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
born April 1, 1958, Palermo, Sicily, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies died Nov. 8, 1941, Rome, Italy Italian political theorist. Educated at the University of Palermo, he taught constitutional law there (1885-88) and at the Universities of Rome (1888-96) and Turin (1896-1908). A member of the Italian chamber of deputies from 1908, he was made senator for life by Victor Emmanuel III in 1919. In works such as The Ruling Class (1896) he argued that, historically and properly, society has been governed by minorities, whether military, religious, oligarchic, or aristocratic
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