Isabella Colbran

[2] In 1801, Colbran and her father moved to Paris where she made her concert debut and was warmly received by Napoleon's court.

[4] Colbran's dramatic soprano voice and sizable three octave range allowed her to have extremely successful opera career.

"[5] She was said to have "the celestial art of singing to such a degree that signs of the liveliest admiration for and purest delight in her have been made clear and manifest in the places of the major monarchs of Europe".

For nearly a decade Colbran was considered one of the best singers in Europe and had a large and loyal following, especially in Naples, and was loved by King Charles VI.

She was hired with a 7-year contact with the Teatro di San Carlo and became the mistress of impresario Domenico Barbaia, which lasted less than a year.

[a][9] She started working with composer Gioachino Rossini, who would end up writing 18 operas just for her voice from 1815 to 1823, including Otello and Maometto II.

Critics described Colbran's talent as "a wealth of exquisitely observed detail [that] could be read into the statuesque calm of her every gesture".

As soon as she appeared [on stage] wearing a diadem on her head, she commanded involuntary respect even from people who had just left her in the foyer.

While Colbran's performance was praised, the opera was receiving criticisms and threats to the actors and actresses' lives if they chose to continue.

After their marriage, Rossini took control of all her jobs, money, inherited land, and everything she owned, calling her his property in letters.

Using her theatrical background as a guide, her compositions often included dramatic elements that used Word painting and offered refinement and a deep sense of character.

For musical and lyrical emphasis, she often added embellishments and fermatas to enhance repeated figures, usually prior to the return of the initial melodic statement.