Simon Mayr (1763-1845) was a German-born composer who made his career in Italy and became an important figure in the operatic world before Rossini. Born in Bavaria, he settled in Bergamo and Italianised his musical identity.

Mayr wrote many operas, along with sacred music, cantatas and instrumental pieces. He was also the teacher of Gaetano Donizetti, which gives him a significant place in Italian operatic history.

His music stands between Classical poise and early Romantic drama, combining German training with Italian vocal fluency. He helped prepare the ground for the bel canto generation that followed.

Though now less familiar than his pupil, Mayr was highly respected in his time. His music belongs to the busy workshop where eighteenth-century opera was quietly becoming nineteenth-century opera.