Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni (born

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, 16 May 1793 – died Piacenza, 6 August 1872) was an Italian soprano who later became a

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

. She was born as Benedetta Pisaroni to Giambattista Pisaroni and Luigia Pratti. Active on the operatic stage from 1811 to 1831, she suffered from smallpox in the early years of her career which caused a change (downward) in her extended vocal range. Appearing in Bergamo, Padua, Bologna, Venice, Milan, Rome and eventually Paris in the 1810s and 1820s, she was closely associated with the operas of

Gioachino 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 ...

and Giacomo Meyerbeer.

Roles created

*Romilda in Meyerbeer's '' Romilda e Costanza'' (1817) *Zomira in Rossini's '' Ricciardo e Zoraide'' (1818) *Andromaca in Rossini's '' Ermione'' (1819) *Malcolm in Rossini'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 ...

'' (1819) *Almanzor in Meyerbeer's '' L'esule di Granata'' (1821)

Sources

* Forbes, Elizabeth (1992), 'Pisaroni, Benedetta Rosmunda' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) 1793 births 1872 deaths People from Piacenza Italian contraltos Italian operatic sopranos Operatic contraltos 19th-century Italian women opera singers {{italy-opera-singer-stub