Balbina Steffenone (also spelled Bina or Steffanone or Steffenoni, 1825–1896) was a 19th-century

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

. Born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy, she studied in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

under Teresa Bertinotti, debuting as Lucia in ''

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

'' in 1842. After singing across Italy, she spent the years 1845 to 1847 singing at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, then went to North America, where she stayed for seven years. Her appearances ranged from Boston to Mexico City and Havana, where she remained a principal in the company under

Giovanni Bottesini Giovanni Bottesini (22 December 1821 – 7 July 1889) was an Italian Romantic composer, conductor, and a double bass virtuoso. Biography Born in Crema, Lombardy, he was taught the rudiments of music by his father, an accomplished clarinetist ...

around 1850 with whom she was involved in the second performance of the

National Anthem of Mexico The "Mexican National Anthem" ( es, Himno Nacional Mexicano, nah, Mexihcaletepetlacuicalt), also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the cry of war" ( es, Mexicanos, al grito de guerra), is the national anthem of Mexico. The anthem was first ...

in September 1854. She sang in the American premiere of ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' at the Academy of Music in New York, sharing the roles of Leonora and Ines in the production. On her return from Cuba in 1855, when she played

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

in the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called her "one of the few worth welcoming back again"; but critic

Richard Grant White Richard Grant White (May 23, 1822 – April 8, 1885) was one of the foremost literary and musical critics of his day. He was also a prominent Shakespearean scholar, journalist, social critic, and lawyer, who was born and died in New York City.''A ...

wrote that her voice had deteriorated into "a bewildered shriek". She continued her career in Europe, appearing in Vienna in 1859 and Naples in 1860–61, where she created

Errico Petrella Errico Petrella (10 December 18137 April 1877) was an Italian opera composer. Life and career Petrella was born at Palermo, capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. A conservative of the Neapolitan school, he was the most successful Italian compose ...

's ''Morosina''. She is reported to have retired in 1862, but also to have taken part in the première of ''Giovanna di Castiglia'' at the

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

in Naples in 1863. She died in Naples in 1896.

References

1825 births 1896 deaths Italian operatic sopranos Musicians from Turin Date of birth missing 19th-century Italian women opera singers {{italy-opera-singer-stub