Rosa Mariani

Portrait by Giovanni Carnovali

Rosa Mariani (1799–1864)[1] was an Italian coloratura contralto opera singer who was born and died in Cremona, Italy. She made her stage debut there in 1818.[2]

She played Isaura in the 1820 premiere of Giacomo Meyerbeer's Margherita d'Anjou (in La Scala)[3] and in 1823 performed the role of Arsace in the premiere of Rossini's Semiramide at the Teatro La Fenice opera house in Venice.[2] She was the older sister of bass Luciano Mariani, who played Oroe in the original production of Semiramide, and with whom she toured Italy.[2] In 1832, the siblings performed in London's King's Theatre.[2] (As announced by theater proprietor Thomas Monck Mason at the time.[4])

  1. ^ Appolonia, Giorgio (1992). Le voci di Rossini. Eda. p. 242. ISBN 978-8888689180.
  2. ^ a b c d Forbes, Elizabeth, "Mariani, Luciano" and "Mariani, Rosa" in Laura Williams Lacy (ed.), The Grove Book of Opera Singers, Oxford University Press US, 2008, p. 304. ISBN 0-19-533765-4
  3. ^ Naomi André (2007), "Women's roles in Meyerbeer's operas: How Italian heroines are reflected in French grand opera", in Victoria Johnson; Jane F. Fulcher; Thomas Ertman (eds.), Opera and Society in Italy and France from Monteverdi to Bourdieu, Cambridge University Press, pp. 87–114, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511481734.007, ISBN 9780511481734
  4. ^ The Ladies' Museum, New and Improved Series, vol III, January–June 1832, London: Simpkin and Marshall's, Stationers Court; G.G. Bennis, Paris. p. 91.