Donizetti, Gaetano

A manuscript fair copy of the opera Gabriella Di Vergy , c 1825-1845, with passages written in the hand of the composer, Gaetano Donizetti.

Gaetano Donizetti was born on 29 November 1797 in Bergamo, modern day Italy. His first successful opera was Enrico di Borgogia , which appeared in Venice in 1818. Between 1818-1830 Donizetti composed 33 operas. Donizetti also composed operas in Paris and Vienna. In 1842 Emperor Ferdinand I appointed Donizetti the official composer to the Emperor. Donizetti's most important works include, Anna Bolena 1830, Lucia di Lammermoor 1835 and The Elixir of Love 1832. He died in Bergamo on 8 April 1848.

Access to the items in the collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the controlled environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Access to archive collections may be restricted under the Freedom of Information Act. Please contact the University Archivist for details.

University of London Library, The Sterling library: a catalogue of the printed books and literary manuscripts collected by Sir Louis Sterling and presented by him to the University of London , Cambridge, (1954).

The British Library holds a copy of Larghetto and Allegro for string quartet (Ref: Zweig MS33).

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.