Anna "Annina" Zamperini, sometimes given as Anna Zamperini, "Annina" being a diminutive form of Anna (c. 1745- ''fl.'' 1776) was an Italian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

who performed in European opera houses during the latter half of the eighteenth century.

Life

She was born in Venice. Her sister Antonia Zamperini was also an opera singer. She married the singer Giandomenico Zamperini. During her later London engagement, the singers Anna Maria Zamperini and Antonia Zamperini were also engaged at the same company with her and her spouse, but it is unknown if they were her sisters or her daughters. She was engaged in Venice Opera in 1761-1766. There she created the role of Flaminia in

Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi (9 December 1728 – 19 November 1804) was an Italian opera composer of the classical period. Biography Guglielmi was born into the Guglielmi family of musicians in Massa. His father, Jacopo Guglielmi, was a compo ...

's ''La spirito dicontradizione'' in 1766. She was engaged at the King's Theatre in London in 1766-1770, where she enjoyed a successful career as a primadonna. She was one of the principle singers of the opera company.

Silas Neville Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and e ...

called her "the best of the company" and

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

described her as "a very pretty woman, but an affected singer". She also performed as a dancer. She was said at the time to have a relationship with director George Hobart, and her relationship with Lord March was mentioned in letters of the time. She is briefly noted to have had a short affair with Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland. After her London engagement, she returned to Venice. Between 1772 and 1774, she was engaged at the

Teatro da Rua dos Condes The ''Teatro da Rua dos Condes'', or simply ''Condes'', was a theatre in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. It was opened in 1738 and rebuilt in 1755 after an earthquake. Never considered comfortable, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1888 and event ...

in Lisbon. She was the star of the opera and widely celebrated. The combination of her extremely high salary and the scandal caused by her reputed love affairs resulted in Anna Zamperini being fired by

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal Dom (honorific), D. Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal and 1st Count of Oeiras (13 May 1699 – 8 May 1782), known as the Marquis of Pombal ( ), was a Portuguese statesman and diplomat who Despotism, despotically ruled ...

, who further more banned women from performing on stage in Portugal. While the ban on women stage performers were on paper only in most of Portugal, it was enforced in the capital of Lisbon, where it was in force until Mariana Albani, Luisa Gerbini and

Joaquina Lapinha Joaquina Lapinha (born before 1786 - died after 1811) was an Afro-Portuguese (Brazilian) opera singer.Rosana Marreco Brescia: Half-Caste Actresses in Portuguese American Opera Houses. Latin American Theatre Review, 2012 She was the first Afro-Americ ...

were engaged at the

Teatro Nacional de São Carlos The ''Teatro Nacional de São Carlos'' () (''National Theatre of Saint Charles'') is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on June 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 ...

in 1795.Rosana Marreco Brescia: Half-Caste Actresses in Portuguese American Opera Houses. Latin American Theatre Review, 2012 After her dismissal, she resumed her career in Venice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samperini, A 1740s births 18th-century Italian women opera singers Italian sopranos Musicians from the Republic of Venice