Colbran, Isabella (1785-1845)

Colbran, Isabella

OPERA SINGER, COMPOSER (SPAIN)

BORN 2 Feb 1785, Madrid - DIED 7 Oct 1845, Castenaso, Emilia-Romagna
GRAVE LOCATION Bologna, Emilia-Romagna: Cimitero monumentale della Certosa di Bologna, Via della Certosa 18 (porch of the greater field to the east, Number 6)

Isabella Colbran was the daughter of the violinist Giovanni Colbran. Her mother was Teresa Ortola. She studied under Girolamo Crescenti in Paris. By the time she was twenty years old she was well known in Europe. She relocated to Naples, where she sang from 1811 until 1822. She was the primadonna of the Teatro di San Carlo company and the mistress of Domenico Barbaia, the impresario of the theatre. Their affair lasted for less than a year.

In 1815 Barbaia contracted Gioacchino Rossini for seven years. Rossini created "Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra" for her and she performed in further works by his hand. They fell in love and in 1822 they moved to Bologna, where they married. By that time her voice was past its prime, although she created the title role for "Semiramide" after their marriage. The marriage was not happy. In 1824 she retired from singing and after that Rossini cheated on her with other women. Around 1830 she fell ill and she may have started her gambling habit around this time.

Rossini left her somewhere between 1829 and 1837 and in 1837 he started an affair with Olympe Pélissier in Paris. They probably separated or divorced in that year. She moved to her deceased father's estate in Castenaso near Bologna. Her gambling habits forced her to sell parts of the estate, but Rossini supported her financially. Towards the end of he life she lived with Rossini's father Giuseppe and she was visited in August 1845 by Rossini after he realised how ill she was. She died in October 1845 in the villa in Castenaso that she had inherited from her father. She was buried with her parents at the Cimitero monumentale della Certosa di Bologna.

Family
• Father: Colbran, Giovanni
• Husband: Rossini, Gioacchino (1822-1837) (divorce or separation)

Events