Balfe, Michael William

Balfe, Michael William , DIT Balph, Michel-Guillaume (15 May 1808, Dublin; 20 October 1870, Rowney Abbey, Herts), librettist, took lessons on the violin as a child and was introduced to the British public as a violinist in 1817. He went to London after his father’s death in 1823 and became acquainted with Count Mazzara in 1825. He accompanied the count to Rome, where he continued to study his instrument. A few years later, he journeyed to Paris and met Gioacchino Rossini , who heard him sing…