an, 1878). See C. Dionisiotti, _Vita
di Carlo Botta_ (Turin, 1867); C. Pavesio, _Carlo Botta e le sue opere
storiche_ (Florence, 1874); Scipione Botta, _Vita privata di Carlo
Botta_ (Florence, 1877); A. d'Ancona c O. Bacci, _Manuela della
Letteratura Italiana_ (Florence, 1894), vol. v. pp. 245 seq.

BOTTESINI, GIOVANNI (1823-1889), Italian contrabassist and musical
composer, was born at Crema in Lombardy on the 24th of December 1823. He
studied music at the Milan Conservatoire, devoting himself especially to
the double-bass, an instrument with which his name is principally
associated. On leaving Milan he spent some time in America and also
occupied the position of principal double-bass in the theatre at Havana.
Here his first opera, _Cristoforo Colombo_, was produced in 1847. In
1849 he made his first appearance in England, playing double-bass solos
at one of the Musical Union concerts. After this he made frequent visits
to England, and his extraordinary command of his unwieldy instrument
gained him great popularity in London and the provinces. Apart from his
triumphs as an executant, Bottesini was a conductor of European
reputation, and earned some success as a composer, though his work had
not sufficient individuality to survive the changes of taste and
fashion. He was conductor at the Theatre des Italiens in Paris from 1855
to 1857, where his second opera, _L'Assedio di Firenze_, was produced
in 1856. In 1861 and 1862 he conducted at Palermo, supervising the
production of his opera _Marion Delorme_ in 1862, and in 1863 at
Barcelona. During these years he diversified the toils of conducting by
repeated concert tours through the principal countries of Europe. In
1871 he conducted a season of Italian opera at the Lyceum theatre in
London, during which his opera _Ali Baba_ was produced, and at the close
of the year he was chosen by Verdi to conduct the first performance of
_Aida_, which took place at Cairo on 27th December 1871. Bottesini wrote
three operas besides those already mentioned: _Il Diavolo della Notte_
(Milan, 1859); _Vinciguerra_ (Paris, 1870); and _Ero e Leandro_ (Turin,
1880), the last named to a libretto by Arrigo Boito, which was
subsequently set by Mancinelli. He also wrote _The Garden of Olivet_, a
devotional oratorio (libretto by Joseph Bennett), which was produced at
the Norwich festival in 1887, a concerto for the double-bass, and
numerous songs, and minor instrumental pieces. Bottesini