Editing Michael William Balfe (section)

===Early life and career===
[[File:Balfe38(1846).jpg|thumb|right|Balfe in 1846|215x215px]]
Balfe was born in [[Dublin]] and grew up on Pitt Street, which was renamed Balfe Street in 1917 in his honour.<ref>{{cite web |last= Sturgeon |first=Sinéad |title=Balfe, Michael Wiliam |url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/balfe-michael-william-a0335 |website=Dictionary of Irish Biography |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> His musical gifts became apparent at an early age, and he received instruction from his father, a dancing master and violinist, and from the composer [[William Michael Rooke|William Rooke]].<ref>[http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/01865?q=Michael+William+Balfe&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit Michael William Balfe], Oxford Music Online, accessed 17 November 2012 (subscription required)</ref> Balfe's family moved to [[Wexford]] when he was a child. Between 1814 and 1815, Balfe played the violin for his father's dancing-classes, and at the age of seven composed a [[Polonaise (dance)|polacca]].

In 1817, he appeared as a violinist in public, and in this year composed a [[ballad]], first called "Young Fanny" and afterwards, when sung in ''Paul Pry'' by [[Lucia Elizabeth Vestris|Madame Vestris]], "The Lovers' Mistake". In 1823, upon his father's death, the teenaged Balfe moved to London and was engaged as a violinist in the orchestra of the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]]. He eventually became the leader of that orchestra.<ref name=Walsh/> While there, he studied violin with [[Charles Edward Horn]] and composition with [[Charles Frederick Horn]], the organist, from 1824, at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]].

While still playing the violin, Balfe pursued a career as an opera singer. He debuted unsuccessfully at [[Norwich]] in [[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s ''[[Der Freischütz]]''. In 1825, his wealthy patron<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael William Balfe|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-William-Balfe|website=Britannica.com}}</ref> Count Mazzara took him to Rome for vocal and musical studies and introduced him to [[Luigi Cherubini]]. Balfe also pursued composing: in Italy, he wrote his first dramatic work, a ballet, ''La Perouse''. He became a protégé of [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]]'s, and at the close of 1827, he appeared as Figaro in ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' at the Italian opera in Paris.

Balfe soon returned to Italy, where he was based for the next eight years, singing and composing several operas. He met [[Maria Malibran]] while singing at the [[Paris Opera]] during this period. In 1829 in [[Bologna]], Balfe composed his first [[cantata]] for the [[soprano]] [[Giulia Grisi]], then 18 years old. She performed it with the tenor Francesco Pedrazzi with much success. Balfe produced his first complete opera, ''I rivali di se stessi'', at [[Palermo]] in the carnival season of 1829–30.

In Lugano, Switzerland,<ref>According to an inscription on the certificate of the couple's subsequent British wedding ceremony in December 1837</ref> around 1831, he married Lina Roser (1806–1888), a Hungarian-born singer of Austrian parentage whom he had met at [[Bergamo]].<ref name=Irish/> The couple had two sons and two daughters. Their younger son, Edward, died in infancy. Their elder son, Michael William Jr., died in 1915. Their daughters were Louisa (1832–1869) and [[Victoria Balfe|Victoire]]. Balfe wrote another opera, ''Un avvertimento ai gelosi'', at [[Pavia]], and ''Enrico Quarto'' at [[Milan]], where he had been engaged to sing in Rossini's ''[[Otello (Rossini)|Otello]]'' with Malibran at [[La Scala]] in 1834. An unpopular attempt at "improving" [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]]'s opera ''[[Il crociato in Egitto]]'' by interpolating music of his own compelled Balfe to throw up his engagement at the theatre [[La Fenice]] in Venice.