Romantic miniatures by a forgotten Italian cellist and composer: the first album ever dedicated to the music of Domenico Laboccetta. Born to a poor family in the Sicilian town of Messina; Domenico Laboccetta (1823-1896) was entrusted to the care of an orphanage where his musical talents rapidly revealed themselves as a child. At the age of seven he made an appearance in concert at the Teatro Nuovo in Messina; and soon won a scholarship to study gratis at the conservatoire in Naples. At just 18; he became principal cellist of the Teatro San Carlo; at a time when the opera house was known across Europe for staging and advancing the works of bel canto composers such as Donizetti and Bellini. Through this experience; Laboccetta developed a superb tenor voice alongside his cello playing; and soon began taking lead roles in those bel canto masterpieces such as Bellini's La Sonnambula. He went on to tour Europe and America in the 1850s; but eventually settled back in his adopted home of Naples; where he became professor of cello at the conservatoire in 1877; and passed on his mastery of the instrument to students for almost the next 20 years until his death. In Laboccetta; the cellist and indefatigable researcher Matteo Malagoli has turned up another remarkable figure down the byways of cello history. His booklet essay introduces Laboccetta's eventful life; providing invaluable context to these miniatures written for salon performances among friends and patrons in Neapolitan musical ATTENTION: please remember that all Blu-Rays are Region A USA and all DVDs Region 1 USA and you will need a multi region Blu-Ray/DVD player to play them.