Henriette Méric-Lalande

Méric-Lalande sang at La Fenice in Venice, 1823–24, where she created Meyerbeer's Il crociato in Egitto.

In 1826, she created Bellini's Bianca e Gernando at the San Carlo in Naples.

Still at La Scala, she created the title role in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia in 1833, but by then she was already past her best.

An accomplished virtuoso singer, she also enjoyed acclaim in Rossini operas such as La donna del lago, Mosè in Egitto, Semiramide.

According to the music critic Henry Chorley, Méric-Lalande began having vocal problems as early as 1829, when it was noticed that she developed a wide and slow vibrato; however, through her highly dramatic temperament she was able to conceal it to some extent.