Marietta Marcolini

Who is Marietta Marcolini?

Marietta Marcolini was an Italian operatic contralto.

Marcolini was born in Florence. The date of her stage debut is unknown but she was appearing in Venice in 1800. She subsequently sang in Naples, Livorno, Pisa, Rome and Milan, singing in the premieres of Pietro Carlo Guglielmi's La serva bizzarra, Giacomo Tritto's Andromaca e Pirro, Giuseppe Nicolini's Traiano in Dacia, Carlo Bigatti's L'amante prigioniero and Ercole Paganini's Le rivale generose. Rossini wrote five parts for her between 1811 and 1814 which – by their subject matter and technical difficulty – justify Marcolini's contemporary reputation for talent as a comedian and a splendid voice.