Gioachino Rossini was an Italian composer best known for his operas, notably his comedic operas, the most known of which are The Barber of Seville (1816), Cinderella (1817), and Semiramide (1823). William Tell is the most well-known of his later, larger-scale dramatic operas (1829). Giuseppe Rossini was Anna Guidarini, a minor part vocalist, and Giuseppe Rossini, a poor trumpeter who performed in several bands and orchestras. As a result, Rossini spent his whole life performing on stage. Despite being a slacker in school, Rossini found it simple to learn to sing and play. He joined Bologna's Philharmonic School (now the G.B. Martini State Conservatory of Music) at the age of 14 and penned his first opera seria for the Mombelli family of singers, Demetrio e Polibio (1806; performed in 1812). He had studied the violin, horn, and harpsichord at the age of 15 and had often performed in public, even in the theatre, to make money.

Rossini became an accompanist and eventually a conductor once his voice cracked and he was unable to continue singing. He had already recognized the significance of the German school of composition, recognizing the new components added to the music by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The early cantata he composed for the Philharmonic School, which was played there in 1808, reflects these influences. These genial lazybones would produce more than 40 operas over the following 20 years (starting in 1808).