Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was a famous Italian opera composer. His most famous work is Lucia di Lammermoor (1835). Along with Vincenzo Bellini and Gioacchino Rossini, he was a leading composer of bel canto opera. Donizetti composed about 75 operas, 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces. He was born in Bergamo into a very poor family with no tradition of music