Isabella Colbran

Isabella Colbran was a Spanish-Italian dramatic soprano and composer, renowned during the early 19th century for her extraordinary vocal range (spanning from low-mezzo up to high coloratura soprano) and her status as the muse and later wife of the composer Gioachino Rossini. Born in Madrid, she was the daughter of a court violinist and began musical training in Spain before moving to Naples, where she studied under Gaetano Marinelli and Girolamo Crescentini. She made her debut in Paris in 1801, then achieved major success in Italy from 1809 onward, becoming the prima donna at Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo between 1811 and 1822. Rossini composed for her leading roles in his operas such as Elisabetta Regina d’Inghilterra, Otello, Armida, La donna del lago, Maometto II and Semiramide. After retiring from the stage around the age of 42 due to vocal decline and health problems (including pelvic disease and gambling addiction), she lived out her final years in Castenaso near Bologna and died in 1845. As a composer, she wrote four collections of songs dedicated to Spanish royalty, the Russian Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, and others; her works reflect her dramatic experience and breadth of expression.

Born Isabella Angela Colbran on 2 February 1785, she began musical studies at the age of six with Francisco Parjea and Carlo Martinelli before continuing under Crescentini, who refined her technique. Her Paris debut was warmly received at Napoleon’s court, and she later performed at the Accademia Polimniaca and Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna in 1807 before engagements in Milan, Venice and Rome. After her father’s death in 1820, she inherited land in Sicily and a villa in Castenaso. Contemporary accounts, including those of Stendhal, praised her imposing beauty, tragic instinct, and exceptional stage presence.

Colbran’s repertoire extended beyond Rossini’s works to include roles such as Elcia in Mose in Egitto, Elena in La donna del lago, Hermione in Ermione, Zelmira, Giulia in Spontini’s La vestale, Donna Anna and the Countess in Mozart’s operas, Medea in Mayr’s Medea in Corinto, as well as Ninetta and Dorliska in Rossini’s operas. Her voice was admired for its three-octave compass, sweet and mellow timbre, and the ability to sustain phrases of canto spianato. For nearly a decade she was considered one of Europe’s finest sopranos and was highly esteemed at the Teatro di San Carlo, where she was briefly the mistress of impresario Domenico Barbaia. By 1823 she commanded fees as high as £1,500 per opera.

The demanding vocal writing Rossini crafted for her contributed to the deterioration of her voice, and public incidents such as the hostile reception of Maometto II in Venice in late 1822 marked the strain of her later career. Her marriage to Rossini in 1822, though fruitful artistically, was troubled personally; he controlled her finances and frequently lived apart from her, and their relationship further declined as her health worsened in the 1830s.

In her final years, Colbran lived with Rossini’s father, and although long separated, Rossini visited her shortly before her death, providing for her care and later commissioning a marble monument for her grave. Her last reported words were his name. Her legacy experienced renewed interest in modern times, including a 2009 album of arias written for her recorded by Joyce DiDonato.

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