![Guiseppina De Begnis--Nat Portrait Gallery-1828-Chalon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Guiseppina_De_Begnis--Nat_Portrait_Gallery-1828-Chalon.jpg)
Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis (born Giuseppina Ronzi; Milan 11 January 1800 – died, Florence, 7 June 1853) was an Italian soprano
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 ...
singer famous for the roles written for her by the prominent composers of the 1820s and 1830s. Her father, Gaspare, was a prominent ballet dancer and choreographer, and her mother, Antonia, a ballerina. Her brothers Stanislao and Pollione were opera singers. As a singer, she made her debut in Naples at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in 1814 in Giovanni Cordella's ''L'Avaro'', followed by important engagements 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 ...
in 1816, also appearing in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
; in 1817 as Giulia ''
La Vestale
''La vestale'' (''The Vestal Virgin'') is an opera composed by Gaspare Spontini to a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy. It takes the form of a ''tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. It was first performed on 15 December 1807 by the Académie Impé ...
'', and in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
. She married Italian
bass Giuseppe de Begnis
Giuseppe de Begnis (1793-10 August 1849) was an Italian operatic bass singer. Born in Lugo di Romagna, he started his musical education when he was 7 years old, under Padre Bongiovanni, and sang soprano in the church. At age 15 he had serious ...
(1793–1849) when she was only 16. The marriage lasted only a few years and the two separated in 1825.
Personality
![Karl Brullov 31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Karl_Brullov_31.jpg)
Her figure has been described by her contemporaries, including Donizetti, as fat and voluptuous; a critic of ''Teatri di Milano'' wrote that "Ronzi was nevertheless a very beautiful figure on the stage, and for those who are not enemies of the flesh, she was very beautiful."
[''Teatri di Milano, Almanacco 1836'', pp. 9—14]
Shortly after her arrival in Paris, in August 1819, she became incensed when she learned that she was expected to sing Donna Anna in the upcoming production of ''Don Giovanni'' at the Opera instead of Zerlina. Ronzi was also known for her capricious attitudes and for having confrontations and arguments with female colleagues, including the famous altercation with Anna Del Sere during the rehearsals of ''
Maria Stuarda
''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''.
The opera i ...
''. The two leading ladies took the heated match between the two crowned heads a step further, and when Ronzi over-emphasized her response to Elisabetta with the famous “Vil bastarda” insult, a raging fight ensued. Donizetti might have fuelled the animosity between the two primadonnas when in response to an overheard comment by Ronzi that he “protected that whore of a Del Sere” he responded that he protected neither of them. Afterwards adding that "those two queens were whores, and you two are equally whores":
:The rumbustious Ronzi De Begnis felt a bit ashamed but did not respond to the Maestro’s remarks and the rehearsal continued. Some reports published by a theatrical magazine would have us believe that Del Sere was badly bruised during the fight and needed to convalesce for two weeks. Be that as it may, these confrontations, although distorted in varying degrees by the contemporary media and later on by writers and biographers, did not help the staging of the new opera in Naples."
The incident was highly publicized and generated a scandal that prompted the censors to ban the libretto forcing Donizetti to make a last-minute change to the libretto and story-line to fit his music to a story of Florentine feuds in the 1200s re-titled ''Buondelmonte''.
Her temperament notwithstanding, composers like
Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...
,
Saverio Mercadante
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond ...
,
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".
Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...
and
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
were fond of her. In a sonnet dedicated to "La Ronza", the highly acclaimed Roman poet
Giuseppe Gioachino Belli
Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Belli (7 September 1791 – 21 December 1863) was an Italian poet, famous for his sonnets in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome.
Biography
Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Belli ...
, who had been mesmerized by her Norma, confirms her voluptuousness and its seductive effects on the public and concluded that the whole theater seemed to waver: "Blessed be this witch who enchants us".
Shortly after her husband's death in New York, she retired from the stage. She died in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, in 1853 aged 53, leaving a substantial inheritance to her only child Clotilde who in 1843 had married the tenor
Gaetano Fraschini. Clotilde was born in 1824 while De Begnis was engaged at the King's Theatre in London.
Operatic career
Early encounter with Rossini
In 1818, Rossini secured her as Ninetta in his ''
La gazza ladra
''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigni ...
'' for the grand inauguration of the newly built
Teatro Nuovo in Pesaro. Rossini had grand ideas for the occasion and he wanted Isabella Colbran and Andrea Nozzari for a colossal production of his ''
Armida
Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description
In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
''; however budget constraints forced him to downsize his dreams, but when an attempt to secure his friend
Rosa Morandi
Rosa Morandi (born in Senigallia, 15 July 1782; died in Milan 4 May 1824), was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. She is especially notable for having created leading roles in operas by Meyerbeer and Rossini.
Training and career
Morandi studie ...
for ''
La gazza ladra
''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigni ...
'' failed, he engaged Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis and, at a reduced fee, her husband Giuseppe de Begnis as the Mayor. This move left him with enough money to engage a first class tenor like Alberico Curioni.
Early years in Paris and London
In January 1819, Giuseppina and her husband moved to Paris where they sang for the re-opening of the
Théâtre Italien in the Parisian premiere of
Ferdinando Paër
Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër.
Life and career ...
's dramma semi-serio ''I Fuoriusciti di Firenze'' on 20 March. The opera received a good review in ''Le Moniteur Universel'', and the ''
Journal de Paris
The ''Journal de Paris'' (1777–1840) was the first daily French newspaper.(7 October 2014)The first French daily: Journal de Paris History of JournalismAndrews, ElizabethBetween Auteurs and Abonnés: Reading the Journal de Paris, 1787–1789 '' ...
'' praised Giuseppe for his Uberto and Giuseppina for her Isabella. In the meantime Rossini had been informed that the de Begnises had been secured for ''
La gazza ladra
''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigni ...
''. The prospects were encouraging and on 5 May the couple sang in Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi's ''La pastorella nobile''. Positive reviews greeted the couple during the summer of the same year when they sang in ''
Il matrimonio segreto
' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play ''The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed on ...
'' and Rossini's ''
Il turco in Italia
''Il turco in Italia'' (English: ''The Turk in Italy'') is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The Italian-language libretto was written by Felice Romani. It was a re-working of a libretto by Caterino Mazzolà set as an opera (w ...
''. In Paris she appeared as Susanna in ''
Le Nozze di Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'', and Rosina in ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
''. She capitalized on her Parisian sojourn and found time to study with
Pierre Garat honing buffo roles of Paisiello and Mozart.
In 1822, she went to London, where she obtained brilliant successes at the
King's Theatre, notably in ''
Pietro l'Eremita
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II C ...
'' (an oratorio version of ''
Mose in Egitto'') on 30 January 1822,
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's ''
La donna del lago
''La donna del lago'' (English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationOsborne, Charles 19 ...
'' and the title role in his ''
Matilde di Shabran
''Matilde di Shabran'' (full title: ''Matilde di Shabran, o sia Bellezza e Cuor di ferro''; English: ''Matilde of Shabran, or Beauty and Ironheart'') is a '' melodramma giocoso'' (''opera semiseria'') in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a librett ...
''. Other Rossini successes in London included Fiorilla in ''
Il Turco in Italia
''Il turco in Italia'' (English: ''The Turk in Italy'') is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The Italian-language libretto was written by Felice Romani. It was a re-working of a libretto by Caterino Mazzolà set as an opera (w ...
'' and Amenaide in ''
Tancredi
''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' ('' opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède'' (176 ...
''.
In Italy
Ronzi returned to Italy in 1825, her marriage fell apart, and she might have had problems with her voice. For the next five years she worked hard to refine her technique and extension until she became a
soprano sfogato
Soprano sfogato ("Vented" soprano) is a contralto or mezzo-soprano who is capable — by sheer industry or natural talent — of extending her upper range and encompassing the coloratura soprano tessitura. An upwardly extended "natural" soprano is ...
like Grisi, Ungher, Malibran, and Pasta. On 13 April 1831 the Milanese newspaper ''L'Eco'' announced her return to Naples to restart her operatic career. She was engaged at the
San Carlo in Naples, where she also won considerable acclaim in roles Donizetti wrote specifically for her. Ronzi's biggest triumph in Naples was her performances as the title character in
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's ''
Semiramide
''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.
The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...
''; in Rome, in 1834, she earned an equally remarkable success in her first ''
Norma Norma may refer to:
* Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Astronomy
*Norma (constellation)
* 555 Norma, a minor asteroid
*Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy
Geography
*Norma, Lazi ...
'' at the Teatro Apollo. Her debut at Milan's
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
took place in 1834, when she successfully sang the title role in Donizetti's ''
Gemma di Vergy
''Gemma di Vergy'' is an 1834 ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic opera) in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Giovanni Emanuele Bidera. It is based on the tragedy ''Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux'' ''(Charles VII and His Chief Vassals ...
''. She had repeated curtain calls and a critic wrote that her "demeanour was noble, natural and dignified without exaggeration and affectation, her accent was beautiful, crisp and expressive; her singing all Italian and of the best school."
[
1834 was possibly her most memorable year because she also had a great success in Rome in her first '']Anna Bolena
''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', both ...
'', and in Florence she charmed the public with her Romeo in Bellini's ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi
''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''Tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...
'' as well as Desdemona in Rossini's ''Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Th ...
'' – a role she had already sung in Naples.
Working with Donizetti
Donizetti created the leading roles in five very important operas specifically for her: ''Fausta
Flavia Maxima Fausta ''Augusta'' (289–326 AD) was a Roman empress. She was the daughter of Maximian and second wife of Constantine the Great, who had her executed and excluded from all official accounts for unknown reasons. Historians Zosimu ...
'', '' Sancia di Castiglia'', ''Maria Stuarda
''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''.
The opera i ...
'', ''Gemma di Vergy
''Gemma di Vergy'' is an 1834 ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic opera) in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Giovanni Emanuele Bidera. It is based on the tragedy ''Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux'' ''(Charles VII and His Chief Vassals ...
'', and ''Roberto Devereux
''Roberto Devereux'' (or ''Roberto Devereux, ossia Il conte di Essex'' 'Robert Devereux, or the Earl of Essex'' is a ''tragedia lirica'', or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after François Ance ...
''. Her Elisabetta in ''Roberto Devereux'' received rave reviews and on the second night, 15 November 1837, a critic wrote that "the applauses started with Ronzi de Begnis' entrance and ended with the rondò at the end of the opera." Her repertory included other operas by Donizetti such as ''L'assedio di Calais
''L'assedio di Calais'' (''The siege of Calais'') is an 1836 ''melodramma lirico'', or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, his 49th opera. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto, which has been described as "...a remarkable libr ...
'', ''L'esule di Roma
''L'esule di Roma, ossia Il proscritto'' (''The Exile from Rome, or the Proscribed Man'') is a ''melodramma eroico'', or heroic opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Domenico Gilardoni wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's ''Il ...
'', ''Parisina
''Parisina'' is a 586-line poem written by Lord Byron. It was probably written between 1812 and 1815, and published on 13 February 1816.
It is based on a story related by Edward Gibbon in his '' Miscellaneous Works'' (1796) about Niccolò III d ...
'', ''Pia de' Tolomei
Pia de' Tolomei was an Italian noblewoman from Siena identified as "la Pia," a minor character in Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' who was murdered by her husband. Her brief presence in the poem has inspired many works in art, music, literature, and cin ...
'', and ''Belisario
''Belisario'' (''Belisarius'') is a ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's adaptation of play, ''Belisarius'', first staged in Munich in 182 ...
''.
Next to Henriette Sontag
Henriette Sontag, born Gertrude Walpurgis Sontag, and, after her marriage, entitled Henriette, Countess Rossi (3 January 1806 – 17 June 1854), was a German operatic soprano of great international renown. She possessed a sweet-toned, lyrical voi ...
, Ronzi was considered the best Donna Anna
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
and the best Norma Norma may refer to:
* Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Astronomy
*Norma (constellation)
* 555 Norma, a minor asteroid
*Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy
Geography
*Norma, Lazi ...
after Giuditta Pasta
Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (née Negri; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian soprano opera singer. She has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas.
Career Early career
Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria C ...
. In fact, for almost a decade (1834–1843) she was a most successful and reliable Norma. Bellini was quite happy with her technique and in 1834 he was contemplating writing an opera for the San Carlo starring Ronzi de Begnis.[Cambi 1943, pp.480—482]
References
Notes
Cited sources
*Appolonia, Giorgio, ''Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis il soprano donizettiano'', in ''Donizetti Society Newsletter'' No. 61 and 62, January and May 1994
*Belli, Giuseppe Gioachino, (Ed) G. Vigolo, (1982), "Sonnet No. 1065", in ''Er Giorno der Giudizio e altri 200 sonetti''. Milan: Mondadori.
*Cambi, Luisa (1943), ''Vincenzo Bellini, Epistolario'', Verona: A. Mondadori. (Letter from Bellini to Florimo, Paris, 30 November 1834)
*Castellani, Giuliano, (2009), ''Ferdinando Paer: Biografia, Opere e Documenti degli anni parigini'', Bern, Peter Lang
*''L'Interprete Commerciale'' (1837), Naples 20 November 1837, Year 1, No. 44
*Migliavacca, Giorgio (2000), ''Maria Stuarda: From troubled beginnings to shining gem of belcanto renaissance'', in ''Maria Stuarda'' liner notes, Nightingale Classics, Zurich.
*Osborne, Richard, (2007), ''Rossini'', Oxford University Press, New York.
*''Teatri di Milano, Almanacco 1836'', Milano 1836.
Other sources
*Mancini, F. & Rouveroux (1986), ''Le guide de l'opéra'', Paris: Fayard.
*Mancini, F.; S. Ragni (1997), ''Donizetti e i teatri napoletani dell'Ottocento'', Naples: Electa
*Riggs, Geoffrey S. (2003), ''The Assoluta Voice in Opera, 1797–1847'', McFarland. pp. 137–144
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronzi De Begnis, Giuseppina
Italian operatic sopranos
1800 births
1853 deaths
Singers from Milan
19th-century Italian women opera singers