Isabella Colbran: The Tragic Story of Rossini’s Composer Wife
by Emily E. Hogstad , Interlude Although she and her talents were central to the work of her husband and creative partner Giacomo Rossini , there is no English language biography of Isabella Colbran . We want to change that. So consider this a basic overview of her story while we wait for a specialized biographer to tell the full story of Isabella Colbran’s extraordinary life! Early Childhood Isabella Colbran Isabella Colbran was born on February 2, 1785, in Madrid, Spain. Her father was Giovanni Colbran, the head musician in Charles III’s court. She must have shown musical talent at a very early age because when she was only six years old, she began studying music (specifically, voice and composition) with several of the best-known musicians in Spain, including castrati Carlo Martinelli and Girolamo Crescentini. By the time she was fourteen, she had published a book of songs. In 1801, when she was sixteen, she moved to Paris with her father and began working in Nap...