Carolina Bassi (10 January 1781 – 12 December 1862) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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, typically b ...

who knew

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 ...

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

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 ...

and Bellini.

Life

Bassi was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

to a musician family. Her brother Nicola, was a famous buffo bass; and another brother, Adolfo, who was a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and also an impresario of the Teatro Nuovo in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. She retired in 1828, devoting herself to teaching opera singing. She died in

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

in 1862.

Family

Bassi was married to Cremona's nobleman, Pietro Manna. They had a son, Ruggero Manna (1808–1864), a composer and Chapel Master of the

Cathedral of Cremona Cremona Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Cremona, ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta''), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic cathedral in Cremona, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Cremona. Its b ...

from 1835 to 1864.

Musical career

Bassi was known as "La Napoletana", one of the noted singers of her era. She was the first interpreter of many works of her repertoire. The roles that gave her a particular success were '' Semiramide riconosciuta'', ''

Margherita d'Anjou ''Margherita d'Anjou'' is an ''opera semiseria'' in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The Italian libretto was by Felice Romani after a text based on legends around the English Wars of the Roses by René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt. The tit ...

'', ''

L'esule di Granata (''The Exile of Granada'') is a ''melodramma serio'' (serious opera) in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The Italian libretto was by Felice Romani based on the rivalries between the Zegridi and the Abenceraggi factions in the last days of the kin ...

'', all by Meyerbeer, ''

Bianca e Falliero ''Bianca e Falliero, ossia Il consiglio dei tre'' (English: ''Bianca and Falliero, or The Counsel of Three'') is a two-act operatic ''melodramma'' by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani. The libretto was based on Antoine- ...

'' by Rossini, and some works by

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 ...

and

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 ...

. She performed in many noted Italian and foreign theatrse, including

Teatro alla 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 ...

in Milan, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Comunale in Bologna,

Teatro di 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,

Teatro La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

in Venice.Musical Career
/ref> She sung in premiere performances of the following operas: * ''Teseo e Medea'' by

Carlo Coccia Carlo Coccia (14 April 1782 – 13 April 1873) was an Italian opera composer. He was known for the genre of opera semiseria. Life and career Coccia was born in Naples, and studied in his native city with Pietro Casella, Fedele Fenaroli, an ...

(Teatro Regio di Torino, 1815) * '' Maometto'' by Peter Winter (Teatro alla Scala, 1815) * '' La rosa bianca e la rosa rossa'' by

Pietro Generali Pietro Generali (born Mercandetti Generali; 23 October 1773 – 3 November 1832) was an Italian composer primarily of operas and vocal music. Generali was born in Masserano. He studied counterpoint with Giovanni Masi in Rome and spent a few m ...

(Theater Regio di Torino, 1818) * '' Semiramide riconosciuta'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Theater Regio di Torino, 3 February 1819) * ''

'' by Gioacchino Rossini (Teatro alla Scala, 26 December 1819) * ''Wallace o L'eroe scozzese'' by

(Teatro alla Scala, 1820) * ''Maria Stuarda regina di Scozia'' by

(Teatro Comunale di Bologna, 1821) * ''Ezio'' by Mercadante (Teatro Regio di Torino, 1827) * ''Gastone di Foix'' by

Giuseppe Persiani Giuseppe Persiani (11 September 1799 – 13 August 1869) was an Italian opera composer. Persiani was born in Recanati. He wrote his first opera - one of 11 - in 1826 but, after his marriage to the soprano Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, who w ...

(Teatro La Fenice, 1827) * ''I saraceni in Sicilia ovvero Eufemio di Messina'' by

Francesco Morlacchi Francesco Giuseppe Baldassare Morlacchi (14 June 1784 – 28 October 1841) was an Italian composer of more than twenty operas. During the many years he spent as the royal Royal Kapellmeister in Dresden, he was instrumental in popularizing the Ita ...

(Teatro La Fenice, 1828).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassi, Carolina 1781 births 1862 deaths Italian opera singers 18th-century Neapolitan people 19th-century Neapolitan people