Giuditta Grisi was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

, sister of soprano Giulia Grisi

Giulia Grisi

Giulia Grisi, also known as Madame De Candia was an Italian opera singer...

 and cousin of ballerina Carlotta Grisi

Carlotta Grisi

Carlotta Grisi, real name Caronne Adele Josephine Marie Grisi was an Italian ballet dancer born in Visinada, Istria . She was trained at the ballet school of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and later with dancer/balletmaster Jules Perrot...

.

She studied in Milan, and made her debut in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, as Faliero in Bianca e Faliero, in 1826. Quickly specialized in Rossini roles, which beginning in 1827, she sang throughout Italy, also creating several roles in opera by composers such as Persiani

Giuseppe Persiani

Giuseppe Persiani was an Italian opera composer. He wrote his first opera - one of 11 - in 1826 but, after his marriage the soprano Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, who was to become a significant singer in her time, he devoted much of his efforts to supporting her career...

, Coccia

Carlo Coccia

Carlo Coccia was an Italian opera composer. He was known for the genre of opera semiseria.- Life and career :...

, Pacini

Giovanni Pacini

Giovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas...

, etc. Bellini

Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...

 wrote for her the role of Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi

I Capuleti e i Montecchi

I Capuleti e i Montecchi is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet for an opera by Nicola Vaccai called Giulietta e Romeo. This was based on Italian sources rather than taken directly from Shakespeare...

in 1830.

She appeared in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, singing Romeo, La straniera

La straniera

La straniera is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, from a libretto by Felice Romani, based on L'étrangère by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt...

, La donna del lago

La donna del lago

La donna del lago is an opera by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on The Lady of the Lake, a poem by Sir Walter Scott.This opera was the first to be based on Scott's romantic works...

, etc.

Superbly gifted, she suffered early from serious vocal problems, which necessitated considerable transposition

Transposition (music)

In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...

and rewriting of the vocal line. She died prematurely aged only 34.

Sources

• Le guide de l'opéra, Roland Mancini & Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (Fayard, 1986) ISBN 2-213-01563-6