What is Giovanni Paisiello?
{{Infobox person | name = Giovanni Paisiello | image = PaiselloVigeeLeBrun.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1740|05|09}} | birth_place = Roccaforzata (near [[Taranto]]) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1816|06|5|1740|05|09}} | death_place = [[Naples]] | nationality = [[Italy|Italian]] | occupation = [[Composer]] }} '''Giovanni Paisiello''' (9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was a [[composer]] from [[Italy]]. He wrote more than 80 [[opera]]s. He also wrote music for churches and [[concert]]s. ==Life== Paisiello was born in Roccaforzata, a small town near [[Taranto]] in the south of Italy. His father was a [[veterinarian]] (a doctor for animals). When he was five years old, his father sent him to a [[Jesuit]] school in Taranto. His father wanted him to be a [[lawyer]]. Paisiello's teachers saw that he had a very beautiful singing voice and much talent for music. This made his father change his mind. He sent Paisiello to a famous music school in [[Naples]] called the {{lang|it|Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio}}. He studied at the music school for five years. At first, he composed [[church music]], but then he began writing operas. Soon his operas became popular all over Italy. In 1776, [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine II]], the [[Empress]] of [[Russia]], invited him to work for her in [[St. Petersburg]]. Paisiello worked for the Empress for eight years. He composed operas for her theatre and [[Conducting|conducted]] the [[royal]] orchestra. In 1784, he went back to Italy to work for King Ferdinand IV of Naples. He was the chief composer for a famous [[opera house]] in Naples, the [[Teatro di San Carlo]]. He also composed church music and concert music for the king. [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] admired Paisiello's music very much and invited him to [[Paris]]. From 1802 until 1804, Paisiello worked in Paris composing music for Napoleon. He then went back to Naples. He was the head of the music school there from 1807 until 1814. The last years of his life were not happy. He had mo