The tihird room

The third room of the museum is the early-19th-century belcanto room. On the walls are the primedonne who sang in the golden age of Milan and of La Scala. Between the two windows is a
painting of Isabella Cobran, Rossini’s first wife whom he married in 1822; she is depicted in the title role of Saffo by Johann Simon Mayr. On the opposite wall is Maria Malibran, who died prematurely
after falling from a horse; here, she is depicted in the part of Desdemona in Rossini’s Otello. This painting is by Luigi Pedrazzi and, above the piano, it conceals a secret: the singer is holding some flowers and the initials of each one (camellia, acanthus, rose,
lupulus (hops), olea fragrans) spell the name Carlo, a reference to Malibran’s great love Charles Auguste de Bériot. Signora Malibran had the picture painted with the intention of presenting it to him, but the artist did not finish the work in time to deliver it to her. He kept it in his workshop and it was inherited by his family until it was purchased by Sambon.
In this room, known as the exedra due to its six sides, you will also see a marble bust of the choreographer Salvatore Viganò.
To the left of the piano, you will see a portrait of Giuditta Pasta by Gioacchino Serangeli. The singer débuted at La Scala in Bellini’s Norma in 1831. Unfortunately, at the opening performance she was
physically exhausted and this compromised the opera’s success. Even so, by the following performances, she had recovered and the opera went on to become one
of the best loved in the repertoire. The famous cavatina “Casta diva” has proved to be the forte of many singers, not least Maria Callas.
On the right is a portrait of Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis. She was another great interpreter of operas by Bellini, although she is perhaps best remembered for her roles in works by Donizetti.
In one of the two showcases on the wall is one of the most precious objects to come from the Paris auction of Sambon’s collection: a miniature of Giuseppina Grassini who, in her day, was very popular throughout Europe. This image, which shows
her in the title role of Ferdinando Paer’s Didone, was reproduced on the front cover of the first guide to the museum issued in 1913. The portrait was painted by Ferdinando Quaglia and commissioned by
Napoleon: signora Grassini was actually Bonaparte’s lover, until his fall, when ironically she became the lover of the Duke of Wellington.