but this is one of the few Pacini operas currently available on CD, and it has received many warm reviews. Pacini himself was the first to recognize his apparent defeat noted in memoirs: "I began to realize that I must withdraw from the field. Bellini, the divine Bellini, has surpassed me." Some years later, he resumed composing, and, after one more setback, enjoyed his greatest triumph with Saffo (Naples, 1840). After Saffo, Pacini entered into another period of prominence. Donizetti had departed for Paris, Bellini had died, and Mercadante's major successes were behind him, thus Verdi offered the only important competition. Pacini's successes during this time period include La fidanzata corsa (Naples, 1842), Maria, regina d'Inghilterra (Palermo, 1843), Medea (Palermo, 1843 with several later revisions, the last of which was in Naples in 1853), Lorenzino de' Medici (Venice, 1845), Bondelmonte (Florence, 1845), Stella di Napoli (Naples,1845) and La regina di Cipro (Turin, 1846). Allan Cameron (Venice, 1848) is noteworthy because it deals with the youth of King Charles II, before he was crowned King of England. In contrast—by 1844—Verdi had written Nabucco, I Lombardi, and Ernani, thus outstripping Pacini. This period of accomplishments was followed by a long but slow decline, marked only by the moderate successes of La punizione (Venice, 1854), Il saltimbanco (Rome, 1858), and Niccolò de' Lapi (Florence, 1873). Pacini died in Pescia, Tuscany in 1867. During his lifetime, he produced much music of high caliber. His output of more than 70 stage works is staggering even compared to Rossini (41 operas) and Handel (43 operas), and he will always be remembered, with Donizetti, as one of the most prolific composers in the history of opera. Operas References Notes Sources Balthazar, Scott L.; Michael Rose (1998), "Pacini, Giovanni", in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. Three, pp. 808–812. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. Budden, Julian (1984), The Operas of Verdi, Volume 1, London: Cassell. Rose, Michael (2001), in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. . pp. 649–650 External links 1796 births 1867 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian male musicians Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Italian Romantic composers Male opera composers Musicians from Catania People of Tuscan descent