Paisiello, Giovanni
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Paisiello, Giovanni: (b. May 9, 1740, Taranto. d. June 5, 1816, Naples). Composer. After receiving a Jesuit education he entered the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples in 1754, to study voice under Francesco Durante. After filling the post of assistant master at the Conservatorio, he decided to pursue a career as a composer in 1763. Within a few years he had established himself as a successful operatic composer in Naples. In 1772, he expanded his range by composing sacred music. In that same year he married Cecilia Pallini. In 1776 he was invited to St. Petersburg by the Russian Empress Catherine II. In Russia he produced a number of operas including Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville). In 1784 he left Russia and spent a short time in Vienna before returning to Naples, where he entered the service of the Bourbon dynasty. In 1802, he accepted an invitation from Napoleon to come to Paris. He remained there only a short time before returning again to Naples where he was employed by the French kings, Joseph Bonaparte and Joachim Murat. The collapse of the French dynasty in Naples in 1815 brought an unfortunate end to Paisiello’s career, and in same year, he endured the death of his beloved wife. His health and will to live broken, he died at age 76 in Naples.