Marietta Piccolomini by Silvy (1)

Marietta Piccolomini (1834-1899); Italian soprano.
In 1852 she made her debut at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence as Lucrezia Borgia in Donizetti’s eponymous opera. In the following years she appeared in Rome, Pisa, Turin, Bologna and her native town Sienna. In the season 1855/56 she had a great success in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien where she sang the role of Violetta in the first French performance of “La Traviata”. In 1856 she did the same in London at Her Majesty’s Theatre performing at the English première of “La Traviata”. In 1858 she performed in the same theatre the role of Luisa in the English première of Verdi’s “Luisa Miller”. In London she also performed in an Italian performance of Balfe’s “Bohemian Girl”. In 1858 she made a very successful tour through the USA. In 1860 she married the Italian Marquis Gaetani della Fargia and retired from the stage. Her most memorable roles were Zerline in “Don Giovanni”, Lucia in “Lucia di Lammermoor”, Norina in “Don Pasquale”, Gilda in “Rigoletto” and Luisa in “Luisa Miller”.