The works of the Italian opera composer Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) typify the style of Italian opera buffa, or comic opera, in the late 18th century.

Domenico Cimarosa was born in Averso near Naples, the son of a very poor family. At the age of 12 he entered the Conservatory of S. Maria di Loreto; he studied composition, voice, and keyboard and sang major parts in conservatory performances.

Cimarosa's first opera, Le stravaganze del cante, was produced in Naples in 1772, the year he left the conservatory. From then until 1780 he moved between Rome and Naples, composing 15 operas for the two cities. By the 1780s he was the rival of Giovanni Paisiello, until then the acknowledged leader among opera composers in Italy. Italian companies performed Cimarosa's works in London, Paris, Dresden, and Vienna.

In 1787 Cimarosa went to St. Petersburg, Russia, as chamber composer to Catherine II, joining a long line of...