Carlotta Marchisio by Bergamasco with autograph

Carlotta Marchisio (1835-1872); Italian soprano. She made her debut in 1856 at the Teatro Real de Madrid as Norma in Bellini's eponymous opera. She performed almost always together with her sister Barbara Marchisio. They were protégé's of Rossini and he wrote the Petit Messe Solennelle especially for their voices. She died early at the age of 36 while giving birth to her daughter Margherita. Ten days before her 9-year old son Giacchino (named after Rossini) had died. The dedication on the photo is to the Polish tenor and stage-director Leopold Matuszynski (see next photo). She signs as Marchisio-Cosselli, because she was married to the opera singer Eugen Kuhn (1835-1875), who performed under the name of Cosselli.