The operas of the Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868), particularly those in the comic genre, were among the most popular works of the entire 19th century. His best-known work is "The Barber of Seville."

Gioacchino Rossini was born in Pesaro on Feb. 29, 1792, into a musical family: his father was a trumpeter and horn player; his mother became a successful operatic singer. When he was 4 years old, Gioacchino's mother took him to Bologna, where she sought and found singing engagements and where the child received instruction in singing, theory, keyboard, and several other instruments. By the time he was in his early teens, he was an accomplished accompanist, sometimes played horn with his father in the orchestra at the opera, and had begun writing music.

During Rossini's formal musical training at the Liceo Comunale in Bologna (1807-1810) he composed prolifically. His first opera was Demetrio e Polibio, written in...