Luigi Zamboni

He was born in Bologna, where he began his singing career in 1791 in a production of Cimarosa's Il fanatico burlato.

Engagements followed in Naples, Parma, Venice and Rome, where he sang in operas by Valentino Fioravanti, Gioachino Rossini, Paisiello and others.

[1][2] The part of Figaro in The Barber of Seville was written for Zamboni by Gioachino Rossini, who was also a family friend.

He had urged Rossini and Francesco Sforza-Cesarini, the cash-strapped impresario of the Teatro Argentina, to engage his sister-in-law, Elisabetta Gafforini, as Rosina for the premiere.

[3] In 1829 Zamboni managed an Italian opera company in St Petersburg for two seasons, performing Rossini and other works.