Giovanni Bottesini was an Italian composer and double bassist. He spent a growing amount of time on music from around 1870 onwards, culminating in various operas, religious works, symphonies, and double-bass works. At an early age, his father, a composer, and clarinetist trained Bottesini in music. Since applying to the Milan Conservatory in 1835, Bottesini wanted to specialize in double bass. In 1839, he quit the Conservatory and traveled all over the United States and Europe, receiving the reputation of “the Paganini of the double bass.”

The first opera of Bottesini, Cristoforo Colombo, was produced in Havana in 1847. He met Giuseppe Verdi in Venice on one of his trips, and they became friends for a lifetime. In 1849, Bottesini had his first appearance in England, where, owing to his exceptional credentials as a double-bass virtuoso, he had considerable success for several years. In 1871, he directed the first performance of Verdi’s Aida at Cairo.