Marietta Marcolini

Marietta Marcolini (born c. 1780 – 26 December 1855) was an Italian operatic contralto.
Marcolini was born in Florence. The date of her stage debut is unknown, but she was appearing in Venice in 1800. She subsequently sang in Naples, Livorno, Pisa, Rome and Milan, singing in the premieres of Pietro Carlo Guglielmi's "La serva bizzarra" (Naples 1803), Giacomo Tritto's "Andromaca e Pirro" (Rome 1807), Giuseppe Nicolini's "Traiano in Dacia" (Rome 1807), Carlo Bigatti's "L'amante prigioniero" (Milan 1809) and Ercole Paganini's "Le rivale generose" (Milan 1809). Rossini wrote five parts for her between 1811 and 1814 which – by their subject matter and technical difficulty – justify Marcolini's contemporary reputation for talent as a comedian and a splendid voice.