Teresa Bertinotti (also known as Teresa Bertinotti-Radicati) (1776 – 12 Feb 1854) 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 ...

and voice teacher. She created leading roles in several

operas Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a li ...

, including

Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the R ...

's ''

Ginevra di Scozia ''Ginevra di Scozia'' is an opera in two acts by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Antonio Salvi's ''Ginevra, principessa di Scozia'', which in turn was adapted from cantos 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's '' Orland ...

''.

Biography

Teresa Bertinotti was born in

Savigliano Savigliano () is a of Piedmont, Northern Italy, in the Province of Cuneo, about south of Turin by rail. It is home to ironworks, foundries, locomotive works (once owned by Fiat Ferroviaria, now by Alstom) and silk manufactures, as well as sugar ...

in the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

, but grew up in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

where her parents moved when she was two years old. At the age of four she had her first music leassons and made her first stage appearance as a child singer at the

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and a ...

when she was 12. She studied singing with Baldassare La Barbiera and by the age of 20 had already sung at both

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

and

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th cen ...

. She went on to sing throughout Italy as well as in Germany, Austria, Portugal, Russia, the Netherlands, Ireland and England. She had a great success in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' and ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' at London's King's Theatre, where she appeared between 1811 and 1812. In 1801, she married the violinist and composer

Felice Radicati Felice is a unisex given name. It is a common name in Italian language, Italian, where it is equivalent to Felix (name), Felix. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment Acting *Felice Andreasi (1928–2005), Italian actor *Fe ...

(1775-1823) whom she had met in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, and the couple travelled throughout Europe together. Radicati composed several works for his wife's voice, including his opera ''Fedra'', which Bertinotti sang in her first season at the King's Theatre. He is also said to have composed several arias for her to interpolate in Vincenzo Federici's ''Zaira'' for its first London performance in 1811. The couple settled in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1815 when Radicati became leader of the municipal orchestra there and ''maestro di cappella'' at the

San Petronio Basilica The Basilica of San Petronio is a minor basilica and church of the Archdiocese of Bologna located in Bologna, Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. It dominates Piazza Maggiore. The basilica is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, Petronius of Bo ...

. Following Radicati's death in 1823, Bertinotti retired from the stage and taught singing. Amongst her pupils were Carolina Cuzzani, who became a ''

prima donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

'' at La Scala, and

Balbina Steffenone Balbina Steffenone (also spelled Bina or Steffanone or Steffenoni, 1825–1896) was a 19th-century soprano. Born in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, she studied in Bologna under Teresa Bertinotti, debuting as Lucia in ''Macerata'' in 1842. After singi ...

, who sang Leonora in the American premiere of '' Il trovatore''. Teresa Bertinotti died in Bologna at the age of 78.

Roles

;Roles created *Ipermestra in Angelo Tarchi's ''Le Danaidi'' (Milan, 1794) *Rossana in

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 June 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life He was bor ...

's ''Rossana'' (Milan, 1795) *Ginevra in

Mayr Mayr is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrea Mayr (born 1979), Austrian female long-distance runner * Ernst Mayr (1904–2005), German American evolutionary biologist * Franz Xaver Mayr (1875–1965), Austrian gastro ...

's ''

'' (Trieste, 1801) All data in this section from Casaglia. The list may not be complete. *Zulira in

Nicolini Nicolini may refer to: * 15386 Nicolini, main-belt asteroid named after the astronomer Martino Nicolini People * Stage name of Nicolo Grimaldi (1673–1732), Italian mezzo-soprano castrato * Angelo Nicolini (1505–1567), Italian cardinal * Brun ...

's ''La selvaggia nel Messico'' (Bologna, 1803) *Virginia in

Vincenzo Federici Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art *Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor * Vincenzo Bell ...

's ''La Virginia'' (Ferrara, 1805) *Fedra in Felice Radicati's ''Fedra'' (London 1811) *Telaira in Felice Radicati's ''Castore e Polluce'' (Bologna, 1815) *Minerva in

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli ...

's ''Il vero eroismo ossia Adria serenata'' (Venice, 1815) ;Other roles *Berenice in Luigi Caruso's ''Antigono'' *Merope in

Sebastiano Nasolini Sebastiano is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (1650–1724), Italian cardinal * Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993), Italian clergyman * Sebastiano Bianchi (16th cent ...

's ''Merope e Polifonte'' *Amenaide in

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

'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 ...

'' *Donna Anna in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' *Pamina in Mozart's ''

'' *Fiordiligi in Mozart's ''

'' *Fecennia in Pietro Generali's ''I baccanali di Roma'' *Zenobia in 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 ...

Notes and references

Sources

*Bozoli, Giuseppe
"Radicati, Felice Maurizio"
''Biografia degli Italiani illustri nelle scienze, lettere ed arti del secolo XVIII, e de' contemporanei'' Volume 4, pp. 400–402, Alvisopoli, 1837 (in Italian) * *De Bekker, L. J. (ed)
"Bertinotti, Teresa"
''Stokes Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians'', Volume 1, p. 67. Originally published in 1908 and published in facsimile by Read Books, 2007. *Green, Janet M. and Hubbard, William Lines
"Bertinotti, Teresa"
''Musical Biographies'', Originally published in 1908 and published in facsimile by Read Books in 2008, p. 71. *

Grove, George Sir George Grove (13 August 182028 May 1900) was an English engineer and writer on music, known as the founding editor of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Grove was trained as a civil engineer, and successful in that profession ...

, "Bertinotti, Teresa", ''A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (A.D. 1450-1889)'' Vol. 1, Macmillan & Co., 1900, p. 248. *Meyerbeer, Giacomo
''The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: The last years, 1857-1864''
(translated and annotated by Robert Ignatius Le Tellier, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2004. *Nicassio, Susan Vandiver
''Tosca's Rome: The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective''
University of Chicago Press, 2002. *Romani, Luigi
''Teatro alla Scala: cronologia di tutti gli spettacoli rappresentati in questo teatro dal giorno del solenne suo aprimento sino ad oggi''
Luigi di Giacomo Pirola, 1862. * Wesley, Samuel
''The letters of Samuel Wesley: professional and social correspondence, 1797-1837''
(edited and annotated by Philip Olleson), Oxford University Press, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertinotti, Teresa 1776 births 1854 deaths Musicians from the Kingdom of Naples Musicians from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies People from Savigliano Italian operatic sopranos Italian voice teachers