Why did Gaetano Donizetti choose a career in musical theatre instead of sacred music?

Although Gaetano Donizetti’s father hoped he would pursue a career as a church composer, Donizetti ultimately chose musical theatre because his natural instinct was for the stage.1

While he received a thorough training in fugue and counterpoint at the Liceo Filarmonico in Bologna and composed a vast quantity of sacred music throughout his life, his professional trajectory was driven by his affinity for operatic composition. This inclination led him to become one of the most significant Italian opera composers of the 19th century, bridging the gap between Gioachino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi.12