Marietta Alboni

Marietta Alboni (born March 6, 1826?, Città di Castello, Papal States [Italy]—died June 23, 1894, Ville d’Avray, near Paris, France) was an Italian operatic contralto known for her classic Italian bel canto.

Alboni’s year of birth is uncertain. Many sources give 1826, whereas others list 1823 or 1822. One of her early biographers states that she herself gave her age as 30 when she arrived in the United States on tour in June 1852. Whatever the case, while a student at Bologna, Alboni captured the attention of Gioachino Rossini, who later was to instruct her in the main contralto roles in his operas. In 1842 she made her debut as Climene in Giovanni Pacini’s Saffo at Bologna, and she achieved a notable success in Rossini’s Le Siège de Corinthe at La Scala in Milan.

Alboni toured Austria (1843), Russia (1844–45), and Germany and eastern Europe (1846). In 1847 she made sensational English and French debuts at Covent Garden in London and the Théâtre-Italien in Paris in Rossini’s Semiramide. In 1852–53 Alboni toured Spain and the United States to great acclaim. She married, settled in Paris, sang at Rossini’s funeral in 1868, and retired because of her worsening obesity, making her final appearance in an opera in 1872.

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Alboni avoided rehearsing to save her voice, which remained beautiful well into her middle age. Because of the paucity of contralto parts, she also sang soprano roles and even male roles, such as the title role in Don Carlos.