BOTTESINI, GIOVANNI (1823-1889), Italian contra bassist and musical composer, was born at Crema, Lombardy, Dec. 24, 1823. He studied at the Milan Conservatoire, devoting himself especially to the double-bass. On leaving Milan he spent some time in America. His first opera, Cristo f oro Colombo, was produced in 1847 at Havana. In 1849 he made the first of many appearances in England, where he enjoyed great popularity for many years in virtue of his extraordinary power as a double-bass virtuoso. Apart from his triumphs as an executant, Bottesini was a conductor of European reputation. He directed the first performance of Verdi's "Aida" at Cairo in 1871, and earned some success as a composer. He died at Parma, July 7, 1889.