Giuditta Grisi (28 July 1805 – 1 May 1840) was an Italian operatic
mezzo-soprano, sister of soprano
Giulia Grisi
Giulia Grisi (22 May 1811 – 29 November 1869) was an Italian opera singer. She performed widely in Europe, the United States and South America and was among the leading sopranos of the 19th century.Chisholm 1911, p. ?
Her second husband was Gi ...
and cousin of ballerina
Carlotta Grisi
Carlotta Grisi (born Caronne Adele Josephine Marie Grisi; 28 June 1819 – 20 May 1899) was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Visinada, Istria (present-day Vižinada, Croatia). Although her parents were not involved in the theatre, she was broug ...
.
She was born and studied in Milan, and made her debut in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
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, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, as Faliero in ''
Bianca e Faliero'', in 1826. She specialized in
Rossini roles, which from 1827, she sang throughout Italy, also creating several roles in opera by composers such as
Persiani,
Coccia,
Pacini, etc.
Bellini wrote the role of Romeo in ''
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 ...
'' for her in 1830.
She appeared in London, and at the
Théâtre-Italien in Paris, singing Romeo, ''
La straniera
''La straniera'' (''The Foreign Woman'') is an opera in two acts with music by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on the novel ''L'Étrangère'' (2 vols, 1825) by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt, although ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', etc.
Superbly gifted, she suffered early from serious vocal problems, which necessitated considerable
transposition and rewriting of the vocal line. She died prematurely aged only 34, at
Lodi, Lombardy.
Sources
*Mancini, Roland; Jean-Jacques Rouveroux (1986), ''Le guide de l'opéra'', Paris: Fayard.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grisi, Giuditta
1805 births
1840 deaths
Italian operatic mezzo-sopranos
19th-century Italian singers
19th-century Italian women singers