Italian composers and musicians

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741)

Antonio Vivaldi was a Venetian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. Vivaldi composed many instrumental concertos for violin and other instruments, sacred choral works and operas. His masterpiece is a series of violin concertos known as the "Four Seasons". Vivaldi’s music was so appreciated because it was innovative in the formal and rhythmic structure in which the composer looked for harmonic contrasts and innovative melodies and themes.

Gioacchino Rossini (1792 - 1868)

Gioachino Rossini was an Italian composer, well-known for his operas but he also wrote sacred music, chamber music and piano pieces. His best-known opera is "The Barber of Seville" (Il barbiere di Siviglia) in which the barber Figaro sings “Largo al Factotum”. Rossini is also appreciated for two ouvertures, one from "The Thieving Magpie" and one from "William Tell". Rossini was a rapid and prolific composer so he had the ephitet of "the Italian Mozart".

Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)

Gaetano Donizetti was an Italian composer of the Bel Canto opera style in the 19th century. Donizetti is best-known for two operas: “Elisir d’Amore” - in which the male protagonist sings “Una furtiva lagrima” - and “Lucia di Lammermoor” taken from a novel by Sir Walter Scott. In “Lucia di Lammermoor”, the most famous piece is “Il dolce suono” (used also for the film “The fifth Element”).

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

Giuseppe Verdi grew up in a poor family. After his studies, he was able to dominated the Italian opera scene. Verdi composed "Nabucco", which is a famous opera for the chorus "Va', pensiero". Then Verdi composed "Aida", with the incredible "Triumphal March", "La Traviata", appreciated by the audience for “Libiamo nei lieti calici”, and "Rigoletto" with Duke’s aria “La donna è mobile”.

Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

Giacomo Puccini was an Italian opera composer known as "the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi" and he was a leading exponent of the Verismo movement. Puccini composed several operas like “La Bohème”, “Tosca”, “Turandot” and “Gianni Schicchi”. Around the world, Puccini is famous for being the composer of “Nessun Dorma”, an aria from “Turandot”, and of “O mio babbino caro” from “Gianni Schicchi”.

Ennio Morricone (1928 -)

Ennio Morricone is an Italian composer, conductor and trumpet player. He composes several scores for cinema and television but his masterpieces are soundtracks for Sergio Leone films (e.g. "For a Few Dollars More", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") and for Giuseppe Tornatore "Cinema Paradiso". Morricone also composes music for "The Mission" and "The Untouchables".

Luciano Pavarotti (1935 - 2007)

Luciano Pavarotti was an Italian opera singer who became one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made several recordings of complete operas and individual arias. He was famous for his performances of "Nessun dorma" from Puccini’s “Turandot” and for “La donna è mobile” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto”. During his life, he sang operatic roles from Verdi and Puccini works. Pavarotti was also the co-funder of the “Three Tenors” group with Placido Domingo and José Carreras.

Al Bano (1943 -)

Albano Carrisi better known as Al Bano, is an Italian recording artist, singer and actor. He made his debut in 1966 as a singer at the Festival delle Rose and in 1968 he won the Disco per l'Estate, an Italian song contest, with "Pensando a te". Then he started a musical collaboration with Romina Power (daughter of the American actor Tyrone Power) and he married her later. They recorded the duet “Felicità”, which is the most apreciated and well know song of around the world.

Ludovico Einaudi (1955 -)

Ludovico Einaudi is an Italian pianist and composer. He studied music at Conservatorio of Milan and began his career as a classical composer. Later he mixed other styles and genres such as pop, rock, folk, and music of other cultures. Einaudi composed the scores for several films and trailers and also recorded a number of solo albums of piano and orchestra ("I Giorni", "In a Time Lapse", "Taranta Project" and "Elements").

Andrea Bocelli (1958 -)

Andrea Bocelli is an Italian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bocelli has recorded some studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas. He was born with poor eyesight and became completely blind at age 12, following a football accident. He is famous for the performance of “Nessun Dorma” and for the duet with Celine Dion "The Prayer" for the animated film Quest for Camelot, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.