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 The mausoleum of Maria Felicità Malibran-Garcia at the Cimetière de Laecken, Brussels. Picture by Androom (28 Apr 2007) |
Malibran, Maria |
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BORN 24 Mar 1808, Paris - DIED 23 Sep 1836, Manchester BIRTH NAME Malibran-Garcia, Maria Felicità CAUSE OF DEATH fall from a horse (consequences of) GRAVE LOCATION Brussel: Cimetière de Laeken, Parvis Notre Dame (Perk 11, weg 11, concessie 15) |
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Maria Felicità Garcia, known as Malibran, was born in Paris as the daughter of the Spanish tenor Manuel del Pópolo Vicente Garcia. In 1816 she first appeared on the stage, next to her father in "Agnese" by Ferdinando Paër. In 1825 she made her official debut in London as Rosina in Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Seviglia", replacing Giuditta Pasta. In 1825 she moved to New York, where her father started an opera company. In 1826 she married Eugène Malibran, a wealthy businessman who was 28 years her senior. Soon after the marriage he went bankrupt and she had to support him with her performances in New York. Despite her husband's protests she returned to Europe and moved in with her two sisters-in-law in Paris. She made her Paris debut in 1828 as Desdemona in "Otello". She became a huge star in Paris and there she met the Belgian violinist Charles de Bériot. They started an affair and started living together. She appeared in numerous European cities between 1828 and 1832 and in 1832 marked the start of a string of successes in Italy. In 1833 a theatre in Venice was named after her, Teatro Malibran. In the same year she had a son by Bériot, Charles. In 1835 she finally managed to annul her marriage and she married Bériot early in 1836. She was pregnant when she fell from a horse during a hunting party in Hyde Park in London in July of the same year. She died several months later from her injuries in Manchester, where she was buried. Her husband ordered her remains to be transferred to Brussels, where he was buried beside her at the Laeken cemetery in 1870. Family • Father: Garcia, Manuel • Husband: Bériot, Charles Auguste de (1836-1836) • Sister: Viardot-Garcia, Pauline Related persons • performed with Alboni, Marietta • met Balfe, Michael • was painted by Bouchot, François • performed with Caradori-Allan, Rosalbina • is brother/sister of Viardot-Garcia, Pauline Events |
| 9/6/1824 | Maria Garcia sings "Nacqui al'affano" from Rossinis "La Cenerentola" at Almack's Rooms in London. It was a very difficult piece and she was only sixteen years old at the time. |
| 11/6/1825 | Maria Garcia is Rosina in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia" at the King's Theatre in London. It was her operatic debut in London. |
| 29/11/1825 | Maria Garcia sing in "l barbiere di Siviglia" at the Park Theatre in New York |
| 14/1/1828 | First performance of Maria Malibran in Paris in Rossini's "Semiramide" |
| 19/12/1828 | Premiere of Fromental Halévy's "Clari"at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris. The libretto was based on a novella that was already made into an opera by Henry Bishop in London in 1823. It was Halévy's first oera in Italian. Maria Malibran sang the title part but the opera wasn't liked by the public and ran for only six performances. A revised version was staged in 1830. After that the opera wasn't performed until 2008, when Cecilia Bartoli performed the part of Clari in Zürich. [Halévy, Fromental] |
| 27/5/1836 | Premiere of Michael Balfe's opera "The Maid of Artois" at Drury Lane in London. The libretto was written by Alfred Bunn. Maria Malibran sang the part of Isoline and he had written the part with her in mind. [Balfe, Michael] |
| 5/7/1836 | Maria Malibran is seriously injured during a horse riding accident. She was smashed against a wooden paling. Despite her pain she started a series of performances at Drury Lane in London at the same evening. After that she sang at concerts in Manchester despite her pain. At a certain point she had to cancel her appearances and she died a few days later in Machester on 23 September. |
| 16/7/1836 | Last operatic performancy by Maria Malibran at Drury Lane in London. She was seriously injured after a fall from a horse on 5 July but she continued her performances. On this evening she sang "The Maid of Artois" and the last act of "La sonnambula". |
| 14/9/1836 | Final performance of Maria Malibran in Manchester. She sang "Vanne se alberghi in petto" by Mercadante together with Rosalbina Caradori-Allan. She died nine days later in Manchester. [Caradori-Allan, Rosalbina] |
| Images |
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The mausoleum of Maria Felicità Malibran-Garcia at the Cimetière de Laecken, Brussels. Picture by Androom (28 Apr 2007) |
Sources • Encyclopedie van de Muziek, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1959 • De Volkskrant • Clari - Wikipedia (EN) • Maria Malibran - Wikipedia (EN) • The Maid of Artois - Wikipedia (EN) |
