Portrait of the singer Isabella Angela Colbran (1785-1845)

The Spanish soprano Isabella Angela Colbran, (Madrid, 2 February 1785
- Castenaso, Bologna, 7 October 1845) is depicted here by the German painter Heinrich Schmidt; she wears a costume for Mayr’s opera Saffo. She was already known for her
exceptional voice and beauty and launched her career with her debut at La Scala in 1808. After that she dominated Italian theatre at the time, particularly as
she was protected by the Napoleonic court and by impresario Barbaja who would introduce her to Rossini. The author Stendhal, who did not think much of the singer, had to admit that she was “an imposing beauty...with great features which, against the light, seem irresistible, a magnificent figure, fiery eyes like a Circassian, a forest of hair of the most beautiful jet black, and finally, an instinct for tragedy.
This lady...as soon as she appears in public, her forehead adorned with a diadem, inspires in everybody an involuntary respect...”.
She became Rossini’s first wife and he wrote serious operas for her in the latter part of his brief career.  The marriage between Colbran and Rossini was over in just fifteen years, possibly because the famous diva’s
career was over and she took a liking to the high life. She became a gambler with a tendency to squander her accumulated wealth.