Gioachino Rossini

Gioachino Rossini wrote close to forty operas before his fortieth birthday, then essentially stopped. Born in Pesaro, Italy in 1792 to musician parents, he worked at a legendary clip: The Barber of Seville, his comedy about a scheming barber and a pair of young lovers, was composed in a matter of weeks, flopped on its first night, and then settled in as a fixture of opera houses everywhere.

After Guillaume Tell in 1829 he retired from the stage, still in his thirties, and spent his later decades mostly in Paris, hosting famous dinners and writing witty small pieces he called sins of old age. His love of food survives on menus: the dish tournedos Rossini is named for him.

Start with The Barber of Seville. Even Guillaume Tell's overture will sound familiar: its galloping finale became the Lone Ranger theme.