Isabella Colbran and Gioachino Rossini first met as colleagues in Naples, where she became his artistic muse and the leading interpreter of many of his operatic heroines. Rossini composed eighteen operas for her voice between 1815 and 1823, and she created the principal roles in works such as Elisabetta, Otello, Armida, La donna del lago, Maometto II and Semiramide. Their marriage took place on 16 March 1822 in a small church in Castenaso near Bologna, after years of close collaboration on the Neapolitan stage and during international tours.
Although their artistic partnership was highly successful, their personal relationship became strained over time. Rossini assumed control of her finances and professional affairs after the wedding, and he frequently lived apart from her from 1829 onward, while continuing to support her materially. Colbran’s health declined in the 1830s, and her voice had already deteriorated by the time of their marriage, partly attributed to the demanding roles he had written for her. Despite their separation and Rossini’s later relationship with Olympe Pélissier, he returned to visit Colbran in 1845 when learning of her final illness, arranged for her care, and mourned her deeply. She remained devoted to him until her death, and he ensured her burial next to her father in the family plot and erected a marble monument in her memory.
