Giuseppe Verdi

It might come as a bit of a shock that the famed Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi did not receive any formal music training. He is even quoted as saying "Of all composers, past and present, I am the least learned." Regardless of his education, Verdi managed to write some extremely engaging operas and is widely regarded as one of the most gifted Italian composers of the romantic era. He has written a number of operas that are still among the most performed to this day.