Elisa Orlandi (1811–1834) was an Italian opera singer who was active at major opera houses in Italy from 1829 until her sudden death in 1834. Possessing a wide

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

with a significant amount of

coloratura Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...

facility, she tackled roles from both the

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

and

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 ...

repertoires. She is best remembered today for portraying the role of Giovanna Seymour (

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

) in the world premiere of

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

's ''

Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', ...

'' in 1830.

Biography

Born in

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

, Orlandi's family moved to

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

soon after her birth. She studied singing in that city with Nardelli and made her professional debut there in 1829 at the age of 18. Later that year, she made successful appearances in Milan and Rome. On 24 November 1829, she portrayed Isaura to the Amenaide of

Giuditta Pasta Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian opera singer. A soprano, she has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas. Career Early career Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanz ...

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

's ''

Tancredi ''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' (''opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède (traged ...

'' at the

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early ...

in the presence of the composer."Orlandi, Elisa"
based on ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...

'', at

Operissimo Operissimo is an online database based in Zürich, which is dedicated to recording details of classical music concerts and opera performances. The database currently includes biographies on over 7,500 composers and 44,000 performing artists,

(in German) Orlandi made her debut at the

Teatro Regio di Parma Teatro Regio di Parma, originally constructed as the Nuovo Teatro Ducale (New Ducal Theatre),Martini, "Before the Teatro Regio", pp. 56 is an opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. Replacing an obsolete house, the new Ducale achieved pro ...

on 6 February 1830 as Fiorilla in Rossini's ''

Il turco in Italia ''Il turco in Italia'' ( English: ''The Turk in Italy'') is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The Italian-language libretto was written by Felice Romani. It was a re-working of a libretto by Caterino Mazzolà set as an opera (with ...

''. While in Parma, she also sang in several concerts at the court of

Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French a ...

. She made several appearances at the

Teatro della Canobbiana The Teatro Lirico (known until 1894 as the Teatro alla Canobbiana) is a theatre in Milan, Italy. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it hosted numerous opera performances, including the world premieres of Donizetti's ''L'elisir d'amore'' and Gio ...

in Milan later that year, including the house's first stagings of

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

's ''

Il crociato in Egitto (''The Crusader in Egypt'') is an opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It was first performed at La Fenice theatre, Venice on 7 March 1824. The part of Armando was sung by the famous castrato, Giovanni Batt ...

'' (Palmide), Rossini's ''

Le comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera ''Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug� ...

'' (Alice), Rossini's ''

Aureliano in Palmira ''Aureliano in Palmira'' is an operatic ''dramma serio'' in two acts written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto in which the librettist was credited only by the initials "G. F. R." The libretto has generally been attributed to F ...

'' (Zenobia), and Donizetti's '' Olivo e Pasquale'' (Isabella). She sang the role of Giovanna Seymour in the world premiere of Donizetti's ''

'' at the

Teatro Carcano The Teatro Carcano is a theatre in Milan, Italy, located at 63 Corso di Porta Romana. Although now exclusively devoted to plays and dance, it served as an opera house for much of the 19th century and saw the premieres of several important operas. ...

in Milan on 26 December 1830. She later returned to that house in 1831 to portray Metilde in Donizetti's ''

Gianni di Calais ''Gianni di Calais'' is a ''melodramma semiserio'', a "semi-serious" opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti (1828), from a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, based on ''Jean de Paris'' by Louis-Charles Caigniez. It was first performed on 2 Augus ...

''. Elizabeth Forbes. "Orlandi, Elisa", ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', 2001. In the autumn of 1832, she was cast as Adina in the

Teatro Carignano The Teatro Carignano (Carignano Theatre) is a theatre in Turin and one of the oldest and most important theatres in Italy. Designed by Benedetto Alfieri, it is located opposite the Palazzo Carignano. Building commenced in 1752 and the theatre wa ...

Turin's first staging of Donizetti's ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

''. On 2 January 1833 she portrayed Eleonora in the world premiere of Donizetti's ''

Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo ''Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo'' ''(The Madman on the Island of San Domingo)'' is a "romantic melodramma"Ashbrook 1998, ''New Grove'', p. 316: In the Grove article, Ashbrook makes a specific point of declaring that the opera is not ''sem ...

'' at the

Teatro Valle The ''Teatro Valle'' (literally Valley Theater) is a theatre and former opera house in Rome, Italy. It was built in 1726 for the Capranica family. In the middle of the 19th century, it switched from staging opera and theatre to only performances ...

in Rome and returned to the Teatro della Canobbiana for several more appearances later that year, including

Joseph Weigl Joseph Weigl (28 March 1766 – 3 February 1846) was an Austrian composer and conductor, born in Eisenstadt, Hungary, Austrian Empire. The son of Joseph Franz Weigl (1740–1820), the principal cellist in the orchestra of the Esterházy fa ...

's ''L'imboscata'', the premiere of

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; ; 31 May 1802, in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. He studied composition with Bonifazio Asioli and violin with Alessandro Rolla. In his early career he composed operas, symph ...

's ''Il contrabbandiere'', and the house's first stagings of

Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fam ...

's ''

Il falegname di Livonia ''Il falegname di Livonia, o Pietro il grande, czar delle Russie'' (''The Livonian Carpenter, or Peter the Great, Tsar of the Russias'') is an 1819 opera buffa in two acts with music by Gaetano Donizetti set to a libretto by Gherardo Bevilacqua-Al ...

'' (as Catterina) and Pietro de Moyana's ''Emma di Fondi'' (as Emma). She also sang the roles of Adina, Alice, and Carlotta in

Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti or Gioa ...

's ''Elisa e Claudio'' at the Teatro della Canobbiana that year. In 1834, Orlandi suddenly collapsed and died backstage at the opera house in

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...

just prior to going on stage as Adalgisa in Bellini's ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

''. Everything had seemed to point to a brilliant opera career for the young singer who was just 23 years old at the time of her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlandi, Elisa 1811 births 1834 deaths Italian operatic sopranos Italian operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Italian women opera singers People from Macerata Musicians from Padua Women singers from the Austrian Empire