Picture the king of Italian opera at his dazzling peak, flowers raining onto the stage. Now picture him just a few years later, paralyzed in a Parisian asylum as friends sing his greatest hits directly to his face, with not a single flicker of recognition in his eyes.

This episode traces the rags-to-riches-to-madness arc of Gaetano Donizetti, the Bel Canto pioneer who composed over 70 operas and paved the way for Verdi. From extreme poverty in Bergamo to international superstardom, we examine how his manic creative genius became intertwined with his devastating decline.

• How the charity-school teacher Simon Mayer fought to keep an impoverished, misbehaving boy enrolled
• The lead tenor's death days before opening that forced him to rewrite an entire role for a female voice
• Why he abandoned hit comedies for serious Tu ...