One of the most acclaimed composers of operas, especially comic ones, his most important works being "The Barber of Seville", "William Tell, "The Thieving Magpie".
Born in Italy to a trumpeter father and a singer mother, Rossini spent his early childhood in the theatres. He studied at Bologna's Philharmonic School and composed his first opera at the age of 14. In the first half of his life, he was very productive by composing nearly 40 operas until the age of 38.
Rossini was very popular at his time. He produced memorable music with inventive, colourful and nicely flowing melodies, which were very attractive to the public. He had earned the nickname "The Italian Mozart". Even Beethoven, with a completely different music style, praised him. He also had the reputation of composing very quickly, and this allowed him to always be on the spotlight as he was producing operas very frequently. As Philip Gossett, an American musicologist has said: "No composer in the first half of the 19th century enjoyed the measure of prestige, wealth, popular acclaim or artistic influence that belonged to Rossini". However, he was often criticised for his works being prepared in such short times and therefore being a little "sloppy". According to the legend, he had once said "Give me a laundry list and I will set it to music".
Although Rossini was known for his jovial personality, he suffered from depression which deteriorated in his 40s, so he retired from the music scene quite early.
