Gioachino Rossini

Profession: Composer

Nationality:

Biography: Most famous for his 39 operas, Rossini also composed a large variety of other pieces—songs, chamber music, etc.

Perhaps most notably, Rossini raised the bar for comic and tragic operas and then, in his thirties, and at the height of his fame, suddenly retired. This sudden withdrawal from a promising career is, on the whole, still inexplicable.

Some idea can be drawn from the deterioration which followed, as by the early 1850s many friends of Rossini were worried for his sanity.

Upon returning to Paris in 1855, however, he seems to have had a second wind—establishing a salon of international renown, which he hosted each Saturday.

Born: February 29, 1792
Birthplace: Pesaro, Papal States
Star Sign: Pisces

Died: November 13, 1868 (aged 76)