Isabella Angela Colbran (2 February 1785 – 7 October 1845) was a Spanish opera soprano and composer. She was known as the muse and first wife of composer Gioachino Rossini.
Early years
Colbran was born in Madrid, Spain, to Giovanni Colbran, King of Spain Carlos III's head court musician and violinist, and Teresa Ortola. She started her musical studies as a singer and composer at the age of six with composer and cellist Francisco Parjea, castrato Carlo Martinelli, and famous castrato and composer Girolamo Crescentini. In 1801, Colbran and her father moved to Paris where she made her concert debut and was warmly received by Napoleon's court. Both of them traveled to Italy, going to Milan, Venice, Rome, before settling and moving permanently to Naples. She inherited land in Sicily and a villa in Castenaso in 1820, after her father's death.
Opera career
Colbran's dramatic soprano voice and sizable three octave range allowed her to have extremely successful opera career. She was described as a true dramatic soprano capable of the most elaborate coloratura. She mainly acted in grand, tragic roles, which never saw her doing comedic operas. The timbre of her voice was described at "sweet and mellow, with a rich middle register able conjure touching lyricism." She was said to have "the celestial art of singing to such a degree that signs of the liveliest admiration for and purest delight in her have been made clear and manifest in the places of the major monarchs of Europe". She had the advantage of a voice of exceptional compass and of striking dignity of movement and gesture. She sang at Accademia Polimniaca and Accademia Filarmonic in Bologna in 1807 before moving on to Teatro all Scala in 1807. For nearly a decade Colbran was considered one of the best singers in Europe and had a large and loyal following, especially in Naples, and was loved by King Charles VI. She was hired with a 7-year contact with the Theatro di San Carlo and became the mistress of impresario Domenico Barbaia, which lasted less than a year. Colbran had the great ability, beauty of tone, and the ability to sustain phrases of . She started working with composer Gioachino Rossini, who would end up writing 18 operas just for her voice from 1815 to 1823, including Otello, La Cenerentola, and Maometto II. Rossini said that Colbran was the "greatest interpreter of his music". Critics described Colbran's talent as "a wealth of exquisitely observed detail [that] could be read into the statuesque calm of her every gesture". The vocal demands of the roles Rossini had created for her is inferred to be a cause to the rapid deterioration of her voice and vocal chords. By the age of 20, she had performed and wooed the crowds of all of Europe. She was described by Stendhal as "a beauty of the most imposing sort; with large features that are superb on the stage, magnificent stature, blazing eyes, , a forest of the most beautiful jet-black hair, and, finally, an instinct for tragedy. As soon as she appeared [on stage] wearing a diadem on her head, she commanded involuntary respect even from people who had just left her in the foyer." From 1806 to 1815, she was considered the most celebrated soprano in all of Europe. In 1823, her fee per opera was £1,500. Overall, she was considered the queen of Theatro di San Carlo, and just the queen of theatre, for a very long time.
On 2 January 1823, the phrase "Pray for the Soul of Colbran Rossini" () was inscribed on the walls of Venice. This was because of the opera Maometto IIs first performance in Venice on 26 December 1822, which had been met with much dissent from the audience, who had gone ill-disposed to the theatre. While Colbran's performance was praised, the opera was receiving criticisms and threats to the actors and actresses' lives if they chose to continue. The opera gave 25 performances in Italy, and eventually gave additional performances in France. The opera is considered one of Rossini's boldest and most politically motivated.