Italian Romantic composer, conductor, and a double bass virtuoso. Bottesini was widely acclaimed, and his virtuosic skill in the bass paralleled that of Paganini himself on the violin. Apart from his triumphs as a performer, Bottesini was a conductor of European reputation. When conducting opera, Bottesini would frequently bring his double bass on stage during the intermission to play fantasies on the evening's opera. His fantasies on Lucia di Lammermoor, I puritani and Beatrice di Tenda are virtuosic tours de force that are still popular with those who are highly accomplished on the instrument. Bottesini wrote three operas besides those previously mentioned: Il Diavolo della Notte (Milan, 1859); Vinciguerra (Paris, 1870); and Ero e Leandro (Turin, 1880).
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