Isabella Colbran

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Isabella Colbran (February 2, 1785, Madrid—October 7, 1845, Bologna) was a Spanish dramatic coloratura soprano.

In the early years of the Nineteenth Century the prestigious Teatro San Carlo in Naples considered itself to be the finest opera house in Italy. Hence they engaged not only the best singers of the day but the greatest composers as well. The prima donna of the company was the Spanish soprano Isabella Colbran. Isabella was not only admired by the Neapolitan public, but was also a special favorite of the King of Naples. In addition, she proved to be the darling of the theater's impresario Domenico Barbaia with whom she had an affair... To complement Colbran's talents Barbaia engaged Gioachino Rossini, to compose a series of operas for the company. Consequently, in 1815 when Isabella was at the peak of her popularity, Rossini composed the title role of Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra especially for her upon his arrival in Naples.

Rossini's next Neapolitan opera was Otello, ossia il Moro di Venezia in which Isabella sang the role of Desdemona. The opera proved to be immensely popular and Isabella was indeed at the height of her powers. However, shortly thereafter, her voice began to change and showed signs of strain. Even so, she continued confidently with her career, and created the roles of Armida (Armida), Elcia (Mosè in Egitto), Zoraide (Ricciardo e Zoraide), Ermione (Ermione), Elena (La donna del lago), Anna (Maometto secondo), and Zelmira (Zelmira), all written by Rossini for Naples.

Eventually Isabella left Barbaja and became increasingly involved with Rossini. The two were married in 1822. The couple visited Vienna and later Venice, where Rossini composed Semiramide. Isabella created the title role, and even though the opera itself proved to be tremendously successful and was specifically designed to disguise her waning talents, she nonetheless disappointed the public. On a subsequent visit to London, her vocal problems became increasingly pronounced which contributed to her decision to retire from the stage. Rossini wrote additional operas before he himself retired from operatic composition in 1829 (including Il viaggio a Reims, Le Comte Ory, and William Tell), but none for Isabella. Colbran and Rossini ultimately separated in 1837, but Rossini made sure she was properly taken care of up until the time of her death in 1845. To Colbran's credit, Rossini always considered her to be among the greatest interpreters of his works.