Cimarosa, Domenico (1749-1801)

Domenico Cimarosa was the most famous and popular Italian opera composer of the second half of the Eighteenth Century. In the course of a brilliantly successful career he composed more than 65 operas as well as a significant body of instrumental music and works for the church. Written towards the end of the ‘Neapolitan School’ era, his operas endured in popularity long after his death thanks to their melodic invention, colourful orchestration and sheer vitality.