Gennaro Astarita (also spelled Astaritta) (c.1745–49 – 18 December 1805)[1] was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.
He began his operatic career in 1765, collaborating with Niccolò Piccinni in the writing of the opera L'orfana insidiata.
In 1794, Prince Nicolai Yusupov, who at the time was the director of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg, asked him to bring an Italian opera troupe to the city, which he did in 1796.
Amongst the singers he recruited was Teresa Saporiti, who had created the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Although forgotten now, in their day they were well regarded and performed all over Italy, as well as in Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and Russia.