Niccolò Piccinni (16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day.
Life
Piccinni was born in Bari, and educated under Leonardo Leo and Francesco Durante, at the S. Onofrio Conservatory. For this, he had to thank the intervention of the Bishop of Bari, since his father, although himself a musician, was opposed to his son's following the same career. Piccinni's first opera, Le donne dispettose, was produced in 1755, and in 1760 he composed, at Rome, the chef d'œuvre of his early life, La Cecchina, ossia la buona Figliuola, an opera buffa with a libretto by Goldoni, which "enjoyed a two-year run in Rome and was played in all the important European capitals. It can probably be called the most popular opera buffa of the 18th century...[even more than]... Pergolesi's La serva padrona...[and]... The first of the new era, culminating in the masterworks of Mozart."