DONIZETTI, (DOMENICO) GAETANO (MARIA)

born Nov. 29, 1797, Bergamo, Cisalpine Republic died April 8, 1848, Bergamo, Lombardy, Austrian Empire Italian opera composer whose numerous operas in both Italian and French represent a transitional stage in operatic development between Rossini and Verdi. Among his major works are Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), La fille du rgiment (1840), and La favorite (1840). In his serious operas he developed considerably the dramatic weight and emotional content of the genre, and his comic operas have a sparkling wit and gaiety all their own.